On May 7, 2012 surgeons opened me up and put in a piece of my sons liver to replace my own diseased liver. Without a transplant my death was certain.
Readers of this blog know the emotions that I went through. Anxiety. Nervousness. Terror. Fear. Hope.
I like to research things. So I’m one of those guys who is not going to things blindly. I read tons and tons of materials from people who had transplants and felt remarkably better instantly.
But on a personal note, stay away from Google random searches when researching on the Internet. You will find plenty of sites that scare the crap out of you. For me, I learned to quickly stay to Mayo Clinic, Lahey Clinic and other respective websites.
I guess logically somewhere I knew it would be a struggle recuperating after surgery. But no one wants to focus on that. Today it’s all I can focus on.
I’m now 20 days post surgery. For the most part I only need narcotics now every 6 to 8 hours. I’m able to get up and walk on my own, sit up and do some of the basic necessities myself. Taking more than three walks a day is now a major victory. Four walks today is my goal.
I now have maybe five hours a day being lucid and alert and not dozing. The rest of the time I’m dozing having trouble focusing.
My most recent blood tests show my liver numbers to be near-perfect doing just what it should be doing. Josh gave me a 50% portion of his liver. My new liver is now working to grow to complete size. Josh’s liver has probably already regenerated to 80% of full size. He is riding a bike. Swinging golf club. He is going a little crazy with boredom.
My current battle is with solid foods and my appetite. I am supposed to be eating between 100 and hundred and 20 g of protein a day. It’s like I’ve had gastric bypass surgery, my stomach just can’t hold as much as it used to.
One thing I had no way of predicting … now I pray. Don’t get me wrong, I prayed before. But now my prayers are somehow different, somehow deeper, somehow more intimate. Granted, sometimes they’re driven by pain that has me also weeping and gritting my teeth.
I think before that my prayer was more focused on “God give me things for you .” I think most of my prayers had a mutual benefit clause. Does that even make sense?
I’m no saint. Be sure you don’t misunderstand that. I still pray plenty of prayers for myself, “Lord take this pain, give me a rest, help me sleep,” etc. etc.
But there’s a level of prayer beyond those prayers as I approach God for my nieces Stephanie and Becca, nephews Jamie and Jason. I don’t pray that they go to church someplace or park their bottom in a pew each week and doze. I just long for them to seek after Jesus , the Jesus I know.
I find myself praying for each of their children and their families. I don’t pray for stuff, like gimme gimme gimme… I just pray for them.
I pray for students recent and older. For Rob and Michelle, Joe and Missy, Ben and his wife, John and Carrie, Carrie and Steve, and so many others. I pray for more recent students Jeremy, Annie, Hannah, Kelsey, Amanda, Joe, James, David, Colby, Scott, Michael, Josh, Brian, Emily, Anna, Sam, Laura and list goes on and on. What do I pray for? I don’t even know. But I pray.
I hope my blog posts become more frequent as I become more lucid. I’ve got a lot of stories to tell. I hope to be able to remember all of them.
Mom’s and dad’s? Please. I beg you. Make this summer your new beginning. Your family needs you. Get that physical, dump the “on a diet” mentality. I weighed 306 in 2008. in January 2009 was when I made my decision to lose weight. I couldn’t keep up with my family at Disney World.
It took about a year and a half for me to lose 70 pounds. But I had a doctor tell me while I was in the hospital for my transplant that had I still weighed that amount, the transplant would probably not be impossible. Obesity makes EVERY surgery much more dangerous.
PLEASE stop now. Smart phone http://www.loseit.com was all I needed with a goal of 1 pound a week.
Drinking from the Same Dipper 
Hi Scott…you dont know me, nor do i know you, but i feel as if i do!…you have been in my prayers from the first day prayer was request…i cant tell you how much my heart swells with gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ for all He has done in your life!…ty so much for sharing these momemts in your progress of healing…it brings so much encouragement to my heart!…God bless you, your son, and family, my brother..i am so looking forward to hearing more details of this wonderful testimony that the Lord has given you..and just know…you are in our prayers..and we, your brothers and sister in the Lord from Extended Hands Prayer Group, continue to hold you up to the very throne room of God, expecting and believing for a full, and speedy recovery!!..God bless
Thanks so much! Recovery is hard and I do need prayer.
Hi Scott,
We are also praying for you . It looks like you are coming along. Every day is a gift each day you will be stronger and feel better.Hope to see you up and about soon. Much love, Aunt Carolyn & Uncle Sid.
Post #2- The only way I can get through this is with Faith, Family & Friends. I will continue to pray for you & your family. I hope your recovery speeds up and you can go home soon. I will continue to read your blog as I find it inspiring. There is hope…for those that believe. May God Bless you Scott 🙂
Hi Scott- Although you do not know me personally I have been praying for you for awhile. I went to high school with your niece-in-law Vivian. I found out about you and your son through a friend that talks to Viv via Facebook.
I have PSC and will be soon facing a liver transplant myself. One of my brothers is in the “live donor testing” phase and we should find out any day if he is a match for me. I find myself feeling the same way…nervous, anxious, scared,
hopeful all at once. Its crazy but the only way
can
Hi Scott- Although you do not know me personally I have been praying for you for awhile. I went to high school with your niece-in-law Vivian. I found out about you and your son through a friend that talks to Viv via Facebook.
I have PSC and will be soon facing a liver transplant myself. One of my brothers is in the “live donor testing” phase and we should find out any day if he is a match for me. I find myself feeling the same way…nervous, anxious, scared,
hopeful all at once. Its crazy but the only way I can
Scott, It’s Rob K – Just to let you know that in the last 8 weeks I went from 228 to 207 and my blood sugars 30 day average is 107. I should be able to get off all my Diabetic Medication if I continue with this. My ultimate goal is to be 170-175 but I would like to be under 190 by the end of summer. That is 17+ pounds. I shouldn’t have a problem with this. I am thinking I will be under 180 by then. I will stick to my original goal of 190.
This is great to hear :
“I still pray plenty of prayers for myself, “Lord take this pain, give me a rest, help me sleep,” etc. etc”
.”But there’s a level of prayer beyond those prayers as I approach God for my nieces Stephanie and Becca, nephews Jamie and Jason. I don’t pray that they go to church someplace or park their bottom in a pew each week and doze. I just long for them to seek after Jesus , the Jesus I know. ”
“I find myself praying for each of their children and their families. I don’t pray for stuff, like gimme gimme gimme… I just pray for them. ”
“What do I pray for? I don’t even know. But I pray.”
These few thoughts , put so eloquently into words , reveal an honesty we would all benefit to the utmost , if we also bare our souls unto the LORD …
I want to thank you Scott , for sharing your experience is both inspirational and revealing.
GOD Bless you as we continue to pray with , and for you
Your friends and fellow servants of the LORD JESUS CHRIST
Extended Hands Prayer Group
Hey Scott,
Your inability to eat is not abnormal. I have had multiple abdominal surgeries and it’s like that every single time. I just had the perforated stomach surgery on the 9th and 18 days later, I’m still not as hungry as I used to be. Your stomach muscles are being tested to their limits and when you eat, they are working overtime. Plus, for every day that you don’t eat after surgery, your stomach shrinks just a teeny bit. Your appetite will come back but it will probably take you months. As for protein – that is one of the hardest foods for the stomach to process and because it is hard to get in the right amount (aside from drinking protein shakes), you will think that is nearly impossible. You’ll get there. Just do the very best that you can.
Wendy