Friday, March 1, 2013

Life, Death and Liver Disease

One month ago today, my mother died from liver disease, which her doctor said was non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.  Her death wasn't a shock since she'd been suffering for a number of years, but I was surprised at how quickly her condition deteriorated. My mother and I haven't been close for many years, but her death leaves me feeling sad, depressed and very mortal.

I've been terribly negligent about keeping this blog updated. Here's where I stand in my journey:  I describe myself as being on "maintenance" status with my transplant center. By this, I mean that I'm not a candidate for any available treatments, so I have blood tests every three months and we track my MELD score. For the past few tests, my MELD score has remained constant - 12 - which is pretty good (relatively speaking). My next set of labs will be drawn in about two weeks.

There's much more to share, but I'm too blue to write about all of it now. Before I go, a quick shout-out to Beaux and his successful transplant. I'm encouraged to read about every bit of progress there is. To those of you awaiting transplant, may you find peace in your trial. And to those who have had transplants and are struggling to achieve a "normal" life, please know that awaits. Normal will be different, but it will feel oh, so good!