New liver!

[Guest guest]

I thought I'd better let you all know I finally got my new liver!!

The call from IU Med Center came on Sunday night, June 25. The first

liver was deemed unusable because it had been " on ice " too long, but

they said there was a second one that looked good. I found all this

out after we'd driven an hour and a half down to Indianapolis! Turns

out the second one was too large! But lo and behold there was a

THIRD one! The waiting was awful -- up and down and up and down!

It turned out the 3rd one was good. The best thing was that all the

postponing gave my husband time catch a flight to IN from our home

in Montana so I got to see him before surgery.

Surgery started about 8:45 a.m. on the 27th and was over before

noon. Recovery has gone fairly smoothly. My bowels took several days

to " wake up " and that was pretty miserable. Then I started retaining

a ton of fluid which wasn't pleasant either. I was readmitted twice

and a drain was put in my side. I just got it out this past Thurs.

at clinic.

I had one setback. As we were coming home from the third stay I fell

getting out of the car; I landed flat on my face bruising my sternum

and hurting my back and right hip! Just what I needed! After a trip

to the ER to determine there were no broken bones I settled in at my

sister's house again and am finally able to get on the computer and

post myself. I still have pain in my sternum and right hip but am

feeling much better.

I'll be here in Greentown for several more weeks and then will go

back home to Montana. I'm still waiting to hear about my disability

claim. The doctors say I shouldn't go back to work at school for at

least 6 months! So I'm certainly hoping and praying the disability

goes through. Hopefully I can go back full time by the 2nd semester.

Working with many kids, 7th and 8th grade could be dangerous because

of the possibility of catching some disease from those who come to

school even though they're sick.

Glad to be on this side of surgery!!

Peggy McGovern