Post-Transplant Blog, Pt. 6

David, I hadn't even thought of myself, but was thinking how difficult it would be for his family to come here first. Anyway, I ordered a peace lily plant to be delivered on Mon. I would like for his sister to take it home and plant it.

I'm resting as much as possible this weekend. I have a plastic surgery appt. on Tues.

Hugs,
Connie

Thanks, David.

Hugs,
Connie

Glad they called you!

Good luck tomorrow.

Hugs,

Carol

Good for you. I'll bet the plastic surgeons will be able to fix things. This has gone on too long. You deserve some time without any problems.

I think Mayo really dropped the ball on you. The original closure was done badly and now it's over a year that you've had to deal with this.

 Connie , What's the chances the bowel might move into the hernia ? When they did mine they just put the staples in and no mesh at all . I can't imagine why they put the mesh in yours . Seems they would know the high risk of infection , particularly given your situation . Guess I was fortunate to have had a surgeon who understood the risk . I still get nervous picking anything up much weight ( fearing the hernia will pop out again ) .

Rick

If he said "pretty good," that tells me that he's giving you the best case scenario. The plastic surgeon sounds as if he could be a better option. After all, Ms. Pretty Good started out by using too few staples, and it's been downhill, ever since. It's not as if you're a naive patient, you had been opened up before and had a hernia and mesh. They should have been more careful in the beginning, knowing there could be problems. Sorry, but you shouldn't have to endure so many problems from their actions. I understand setbacks after a liver transplant (for many reasons), but these were preventable.

I called the TP surgeon's P.A. this morning and she said that surgery will be done week after next...the 13th, 14th, or 15th. She had originally said that the TP doc did not have OR available to her that week. I asked her to see if someone else could do it....and she said yes. However, when she got back to me, the TP surgeon has now found a space somewhere in there. She doesn't seem to want to let go of this particular bone...like a dog.

Anyway, I will have a meeting with her prior to surgery, either on the 9th or 10th when I will be at Mayo anyway. I had told the P.A. that I wanted to get that testing done first. They can get info from that, too, as I'm having blood work, MRI, chest x-ray, etc. So it's going to be a busy couple of weeks.

Hugs,
Connie

Abdominal MRI looking for HCC. My transplant coordinator called me this morning, too, to offer condolences. She had seen the info about Bill's death in the TP surgeon's notes. I asked about the high AFP and increased liver enzymes last month and she said they're from hep C.

Hugs,
Connie

Thanks, Mar!

Hugs,
Connie

Thanks, the miz. Please...the 60s bands were more mellow. 70s metal rock maybe...for themister's sister. LOL

Thanks for sharing your plant story.

I feel like it's about time I got a break, but there must be a lesson in all this. Either that, or my health will continue to deteriorate until I say, "Enough! Hospice, please."

Hugs,
Connie

Or straighten out your tail. An ironectomy.

I had the bulk of testing today: Blood work, chest x-ray, EKG, physical exam by both the TP surgeon and her P.A. Plus a f/u visit with the hand surgeon who repaired my trigger thumb. He said it's about 75% back to normal and would just take a little more time. I told him I am thrilled with it.

My midriff surgery will be on Mon. I have to be there at 6 AM, though surgery probably won't be until afternoon. I was very clear that I do not want to be completely opened up and don't want a wound vac. She said that it's a very difficult surgery, as bowel is so close to the mesh. After she removes the mesh in that hole, if there is not flesh beneath and just bowel, she will have to use a small piece of biodegradable mesh. I agreed to that. My dressing will have to be kept very wet (this was really emphasized) and be changed 3 x a day. I will have home health nurses for awhile, though I know I will have to do most of those dressing changes myself. David, I did tell the surgeon that I knew she liked to cut, which she denied...but hey, a surgeon wouldn't be a surgeon if he/she didn't like cutting. It's a little creepy when you think about it, but we certainly do need surgeons. I signed a consent form that stated the above and also that I do NOT want a wound vac.

I plan to call the plastic surgeon tomorrow and give him the surgery date and ask that he or his associate be present in the OR Mon. He had offered this to me and I think it's a very good idea. Another pair of eyes and another opinion can only be a good thing.

If all goes well, I will be discharged on Tues., so just an overnight stay. I pray that this will be the case. And I would appreciate your prayers, as well, that there are no complications.

I have the results of my labs. My kidney function tests are NORMAL, thanks to reduced Lasix. Aside from liver enzymes, which have increased once again, and my AFP which increased by 5 points in a month, everything else was normal or very close to it.

Alk-phos 225 (normal 55-143)

AST 118 (8-43)

ALT 57 (7-45)

AFP 15.0 (0.0-5.9) (tumor marker)

My Transplant Coordinator continues to think it's the Hep C. I'm having an MRI first thing in the morning and will go over results with an oncologist and the TC in the afternoon. The MRI should tell the true story. And to be honest, I won't be shocked if I have another HCC. I guess they would just do chemoembolization for the time being, if this is the case.

Hugs and please hold down the fort in my absence.

Connie