Lost Son

themiz said...
Hey! So great to see your post, Alex. Sorry your Dad's numbers are funky this week. Really happy he has had such a good recovery. It is hard to believe it is almost a year since his transplant.

Do you go to Iowa, or does Loyola take care of his post needs? Enjoy your vacation and let us know how his testing goes. Thanks for popping in again. We miss you around here. Big Hugs

Thanks! I miss being around as well. I have just been going through so much, but it is AMAZING how time flies. I too can not believe it's almost been a whole year. The past 10 months have been a true gift from God in my book. Whenever I have a bad day and feel I am unlucky, I stop myself and think are you crazy?! What more can I ask for? So it has been a life changer for sure. As I said, he was doing great and physically he does feel fine. But when the numbers aren't there something needs to be checked.

The one big thing is the mental aspect of it all. When he got the call he immediately assumed the worst. It's almost as if he has a "Too good to be true" mentality. But maybe this will be a minor episode that will put him at ease if it happens again in the future. I suppose firsts are always a scary thing.

Well his labs came back slightly elevated even more. So they are admitting him since we came from so far. They still haven't let us know the findings of the ultrasound but based off his labs alone they are doing a biopsy.

Always a pleasure to hear from you Alex. Strong people, Your family. You'll be alright. Ups and downs my friend, Today's down's are far better than yesterdays where your dad is concerned.


Ziff

Thanks all. Yes my mom is actually staying with him during his stay. She is being very positive and trying to keep him in good spirits.

As an update, the doctors told us that the ultrasound looked good and normal, meaning no lesions (possible cancer) and no blood clots. So there they ruled out a few possibilities.

However, his labs from Monday were slightly even more elevated than last weeks. Therefore, they decided to do a biopsy today and see what the issue may be. It appears they will not have any answers until Thursday and after that they will determine the course of action.

According to the doctor he said that the usual causes of all this typically are:

1. Rejection - Most common
2. Virus
3. drinking alcohol
4. Hep B or C

The biopsy is scheduled for today at 4PM. At which point they should get results in 24 hours and decide on treatment/next steps. They feel it is a rejection he is experiencing and are preparing to use steroid treatment. They say typically they monitor that for 24-48 hours then finish off with oral steroids.

After 10 months this is a BIG reality check. I think we were all getting confident that things were going to continue to only get better not worse. I think Dads biggest issue is just that...he was feeling very confident and was beginning to feel "normal" again and enjoy life. So this kind of crushed his confidence and put him back into paranoid mode. I hope he can overcome this and also his paranoia as I was loving who he was becoming.

I had to drive back home for work but plan on heading over again Friday night as it appears he will be there a few days yet. Here is the time frame in case it serves as information for some.

Day 1 - Ultrasound early. Could not schedule a biopsy until the next day, so pretty much just admitted to sit and wait
Day 2 - Biopsy is scheduled and to be performed in the afternoon
Day 3 - Results expected and treatment if any to begin
Day 4 & 5 - Monitor for 24-48 hours
Day 5 or 6 - Hopefully released

So hopefully he is out by Saturday. Of course the real important things is that he gets out fine at all.

ML, you mentioned Mike has gone through this a few times. Were they rejection episodes?

Post Edited (lostson) : 8/26/2015 12:30:17 PM (GMT-6)

Beats going over the edge...

Just another quick update. They started him on some steroid treatment last night to see if his numbers improved, but after his labs today they determined they hadn't, so they are beginning to rule out rejection as the cause. Therefore, they are now really waiting for the results of the biopsy. He said the doctor mentioned that there might be a leak near the bile duct area. Not sure if that is the culprit, but with the steroids not working, looks like there are lots of other stuff up in the air.

Guess we will have to wait and see. Looks like his stay will be longer now.

LS: When Mike had the screwy labs they said based on his biopsy that it was either rejection OR his Hep C rearing its head loud and clear post TP.They said wordsa bout the cell structures that were above my pay grade and I've learned a lot, but I cannot quite read a biopsy slide! I've seen them on teh screen, but it looks like blood blobs to me!

They added a 2nd antirejection med, so he was getting a double dose and then he got a Hep C treatment approved so it was full speed ahead. I don't think we every knew which was which.

Now that he is Hep C free, he is sort of hoping they'll do another biopsy to see how things are going...or at least a Fibroscan cause he was Grade 3 just before treatment and that could get bad again. UGH..

So far so good though.

Hope he is better after the weekend.

We are having some excitement here. Hurricane Erika in the ocen with OUR address on its forward bands. The TV is cutting in every 15 minutes with the latest. So either we are in for it....or they are just hoping to ride the most interesting crisis this news cycle.. When you see a MAP of FL there is a giant lake in the middle, Lake Okeechobee. That is 50 direcly west of me and I am 10 miles west of the ocean....so you can see that weather map and know whether I have power by Monday!!!!!

Best to you and all.

Mama Lama

LS, I wrote a big post earier today but it isn't here...

Storm was a big bust...but we got ready and now we ARE ready for the hurricane season, gas in grill, extra water on hand, batteries, canned soups, extra ice made to help keep the fridge cool longer, found the wind up radio, etc.

Glad to hear eveyrone is home again.

We hve clinic next week. Some of Mike's labs are goofy.....oops.

Hugs,

ML