Surgeon update #2

The surgeon came out at midnight to let us know that they are closing him up. The surgeon said his old liver was in horrible shape and he was happy Joe got transplanted now!! Surgery went extremely well & new liver is functioning beautifully. He should be in recovery in about 1 hour and then to ICU for 24-48 hours. We can see him in ICU. We are so thankful and happy all went well. Love to all!!

Miracle - Surgeon update #1

Just got the call from the O.R. at 10 pm pacific time. The old liver is out, the new one is in and everything is going well. 3-4 more hours to go!!!

A Miracle!

We truly are experiencing a miracle! On Monday night we received a call from the mother of a friend of our son. She had a friend who's pastor's wife had just passed away from a brain aneurysm and the family was donating her organs for transplant. The family was asking if anyone knew of someone in need of an organ transplant and our son's friend's mother gave them Joe's name. This was all taking place 15 minutes from our house at the hospital where both our children were born! Tuesday was a whirlwind of phone calls to our insurance, Mayo Florida & UCLA where Joe had been listed before we went to Florida. The family met with the organ donation team on Tuesday and we learned that afternoon that the pastor's wife's liver was a match to Joe. We were overwhelmed with gratitude at the gift this family was giving in their time of sorrow and we will forever be grateful to the Scroggins family. It was decided that UCLA should do the transplant since they were the closest so Joe & I arrived Tuesday night so Joe could go through testing & evals to get him back on the list at UCLA. This morning he was cleared by the transplant team & relisted...the waiting began. The liver arrived at UCLA at 5pm and after going thru further testing it was deemed suitable for transplant. Joe was wheeled into the O.R. at 6:30 and I am waiting to hear that the surgery has begun. Thank you also to our own angel on earth - Toni Plott who got this whole miracle started. We are so blessed to have friends like you. Please keep our family and the Scroggins family and all of the families that her organ donation is touching in your prayers...Miracles Can and Really Do Happen!!!

HEADED FOR HOME!!!?

Unfortunately the MELD score never returned to the mid twenties after the hospital stay for the bile duct infection. With a MELD of 17/18 the chances of transplant at this time are slim and none. So, no sense sitting around here wasting time and money if nothing is going to happen soon. Will the MELD go back up? When will this happen? The first question is easy. Yes, the MELD will go back up. I am no better health wise than when we arrived here in April. I do feel fine but the bile ducts of the liver are continuing to deteriorate. With the transplant system in place now though, all that matters is where that MELD score is today. When this will happen is the unknown. Two weeks, two months, one year? Only time will tell. When the time comes, we will return to Florida and give it another shot.

We are very exited to be going home. Being able to see everyone, the kids' fall sports seasons, the upcoming holidays, and getting back to work (I can't believe I am looking forward to that, but I am) will be great. Going home with mission accomplished would have been ideal but that will come soon enough. Some great news from this morning to add. A couple from Bakersfield with whom we have become friends while here came downstairs to the breakfast room of the hotel to tell us that they just received their call for transplant and were on their way to the hospital to begin getting ready for surgery. He was very sick and really needed his new liver soon. Please keep them in your prayers.

Hope to see everyone while I am home. Julie will pick my mom and me up Thursday afternoon at Ontario Airport. If you are in the neighborhood please stop to hello so that I can personally thank you for all of your prayers and support while I was gone.

See you soon at the soocer fields and around town,

Joe

One More Time

Wednesday morning they found that the stent had moved. It dropped out of the spot they had placed it and it had to be put back. Wednesday afternoon it's back to the ERCP room. They removed the stent and replaced it with a larger one to be sure there would be no more slip sliding away this time. This meant one more night in room 329.

Thursday morning meant the return to eating. After no food since Sunday evening even hospital food tasted great. I was released at 1 pm and returned to the hotel for more solid food. All is well again and now we can hurry up and wait some more.

Talk to you all soon,

Joe

The dreaded......Infection

Yes, it finally happened. I was hit by a side effect of a failing liver. The bile duct that my disease is affecting became to constricted to let bile flow through correctly. It became clogged and caused an infection causing me to become sick with headache, body ache, flu like symptoms. I gave blood Friday morning and had MELD score of 34, which clearly showed there was a liver problem and got me admitted to the hospital Friday afternoon.

Much blood was drawn for testing and cultures. The headaches would not go away with any of the pain medications they were trying so CT Scans of the head were done. They were clear and they tried to decide what to do next. They pumped in the antibiotics hoping that taking care of the infection would relieve the headache and fever.

Sunday was much of the same. They did brain and abdomen MRI's to get more detailed pictures. With the brain part of it still clear they figured the headaches would go away when they took care of the liver.

Monday's schedule included a Spinal Tap, just to be sure there was no infection in the spinal fluid, an ERCP, which is a scope down the throat with a camera and has room in the tube to send various roto rooter tools to clean the liver's main bile duct and insert a stint to hold the duct open which they did. Everything went well. Finished around 6 pm so another night in the hospital while they got another look at all the results.

Tuesday morning they told me about some possible problems in the stomach that they got a quick look at during the ERCP. They were going to go back in with just a camera to have a look around. Taking care of the clogged bile duct did the trick. It started the liver functioning more correctly which relieved some building back pressure to the veins in my stomach. They were no longer bleeding.

A busy four or five days but, all is well. Back to waiting and hoping everything continues to go well. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, Joe.

Nothing New

Unfortunately, no new news. All is well here. Julie and the kids are home, finishing summer and getting ready to start school. My mom is here and helping me wait. Julie will return for a week or so whenever surgery does happen. My MELD score is 24, which is where it was at for call number two. It was 25 for the other two calls. Work is busy which keeps me busy during the day. Close weekend outings or time with the many friends we have made keep the weeks rolling along. We can't wait to get home to see everyone. We miss you all a lot. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Joe