At four weeks post-liver transplant, Mike is home and doing really well. No slip slopping around in bathrobe and slippers for him…he is up, showered, dressed and trying to regain his life bit by bit. His twice a day walks are longer…from our house up and down the street, one house further each day. He likes to come along on the errands and came INSIDE the grocery store yesterday to be sure I got everything he wanted! Same old Mike. He doesn’t touch the doors or carriage and washes his hands right after…can’t be too careful. No movies or crowds for now. Though they say at 3 months he can likely do things and even travel is his recuperation continues the same positive path. Maybe even drive again.
He has labs twice a week and a check up at the clinic every two weeks. That will become once a week for labs and once a month for clinic probably the next time, then less frequently over time. He still has his 45 staples, but we expect they will be removed June 9th. They have reduced his anti-rejection meds a couple of times and he will be glad to be on much lower dose soon. They make his hands tremble, which is a problem. He has trouble giving himself the insulin. He is hoping once they get his med straight he will not need insulin forever.
He takes 12 meds on various time schedules…before/after meals, fasting, 3 times a day, 2 times a day, 1 time a day and we are both up to speed on that now. But it takes a while. He did the meds schedule himself today, so that is good.
His #1 problem would be to get an infection, so he takes prophylactic pills for bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. We had a scare this week when I had flu like symptoms for a few days…aches and headache and sore throat, and we were afraid he would catch it. I went to the doc who suggested we just keep up our hand washing regime and use extra care to keep my personal items separate…towels, tooth brush, etc. I feel better today and really hope he doesn’t get it.
The most important change we see is in Mike’s mental state. For a long time his memory was impaired. He was often confused, forgetful and grumpy (very grumpy). That seems to be completely gone. It is like we took a wrinkle in his life timeline and it is now back 5 years to where he was then. Thank the sun, moon and stars for that!
At his lowest weight in years (around 155), he has begun to take an interest in eating and even meal planning. It would be great if he wanted to do some cooking…as I am neither very good at it nor do I enjoy it. He makes a giant mess, uses every pot, knife, and spoon in the place, but it would be with eternal joy that I could clean up after his gourmet projects again…then I’d know he was REALLY back with us. No wine pairing, of course!
He is looking forward to getting his golf clubs out of storage and lacing on those shoes!
He must have gotten the healthiest liver in South Florida for him to be doing so well. We both thank you all for your interest, concern, well wishes, cards, prayers and calls. This has been a difficult journey. We are so grateful for how it’s turning out. What an amazing gift our donor family gave to our family. His grandchildren especially want them to know they are thankful something good has come from their tragedy.
Hugs, Carol and Mike