The Liver Advantage - Before the slicing and dicing

This blog is intended to share with the readers, some experiences of a person who has undergone Liver transplant surgery. Of course, not all patient stories are the same, neither are the experiences with hospitals, drugs, etc. But then i do hope this serves as a good read to understand the overall experience as well as ways to cheer up those who might be going through a similar predicament. It is as much a cathartic experience as one of sharing. 

Well, there I was cruising along in life, with some ups and downs, but generally doing most things I wanted to.

Of course, I knew about my liver disease, which was possibly caused / exacerbated by my chemo treatment for cancer. But then liver disease progresses slowly. So, there passed 7-8 years, with just one tablet, which became a routine and kind of taken for granted.

But then regular checkups continued at hospital, every 3-6 months, and the internal organs (liver and spleen) started showing the decline. Outwardly the signs were not significant --- low appetite, loss of weight, fatigue, itching, cramps etc.  But then the writing was on the wall….. the only treatment for end-stage-liver-disease being liver transplant. So, they did a battery of tests and evaluated me to be eligible for being a liver transplant recipient and declared me ready for a transplant.

Life went on, it seemed to be going pretty good. I was in generally good health, trying to eat “liver” safe foods, getting some exercise (only walking) and keeping myself active, managing with some of the side effects.

Twice the hospital gave me a call saying there is a liver available, which I declined, as I was in pretty good shape. Why fix something which aint broke? 

Slowly the symptoms began to bother. And personally the biggest effect was that the doctors would suggest not to travel – even for a few days --- just in case there was a donor!! The Damocles sword hangs heavy!! 

And as the days passed, the symptoms became a little more significant, and quite honestly, i got rather impatient at keeping my life in limbo.......cant travel, cant take up any long term assignments, cant do this and that and one more!! As there was no other choice, is it not better to get it over with, i thought? And the doctors also felt that if you are in generally good health, means that you can recover faster from the surgery. Any surgery done in emergency would have other compromises. 

Of course, i thought long and hard about it. I read about it, i watched videos of the surgery. I harkened back on my experience of the various surgeries i had had. Little did i know or acknowledge, that this was a very, very complex surgery, and that i was also older. I thought that it will be like the past few times, i am strong, i will recover quickly. I will maybe even surprise the doctors!!

When the call came from the hospital regarding availability of a donor (brain dead donor, whose family had the nobility of soul to give life to others, even in their moment of great grief), our family had a hurried discussion, agreement (not that there was any choice) and proceeded to the hospital. 

At the hospital, some tests and then the counselling session with the team of doctors. 

Lord, was it a sombre meeting!! The doctors all in scrubs, seriously explaining all the risks associated with the surgery, clearly laying out the things that could go wrong( but generally dont), the  anaesthetists explaining their bit and then seeking the consent. 

After all, it is already too late to back out!!  They even offer that it cannot all be taken for granted. They would go and actually physically examine the liver of the donor, and ensure that it is the right fit (though all clinical parameters are already matched) and then only would wheel me in for surgery (maybe in about 5-6 hours). 

At that moment, i remember thinking, how tough a surgeon's job is!! Just imagine the doctors are on their feet for nearly 14-15 hours continuously. (5-6 hours to remove the organ and 6-7 hours to transplant the organ!!) Phew!!

Back to the room, to wait for the nod from the doctors, And yes, in the meantime, nothing to eat or drink!!! Not even water!!! Poor me!! They kept me hungry and thirsty for nearly 72 hours!! 

I will write more about the post surgery phase in the next blog, which is actually quite interesting in a strange kind of a way!!