Monday
8a Pharmacy
I met with the pharmacist(s). There were 3 of them, 2 were residents. We went over my current medication list, medication routine, anti-rejection meds, and concerns I had regarding pharmacy things.
830a Labwork
They wanted a LOT of blood.
9a Education
My Transplant Coordinator was the the person giving the education class. Overall, I mean...she pretty much had a power point and read from it. It was all useful, but I wish there had been more to it. It felt like a waste of an hour because she also gave us a copy of the slides and I could've read that myself.
This was about the point, though, where I started feeling overwhelmed. I was clinging to my transplant binder of papers.
10a Social Work
So the Social Worker pretty much just wanted to know about who was going to be my support system during and after transplant. I was happy to report to her that I have an amazing support system. I mean, hello. Have you met my people? They're awesome.
11a Behavioral Health
Something that should be said is that there have been parts of my life that have been rough. I've been in and out of therapy since I was 10. We had a lot to cover, and we covered a lot. I was very honest with her about everything. The conclusion? I'm severely depressed. Go figure.
As a followup, we spent an hour or two on the phone on Monday to fill in some of the gaps of information that she needed, and had a few questions about some of the things I told the other folks. I wasn't trying to hide anything from her, but everyone asks a lot of the same questions and at the end of it, they all compare notes. I think her and I had so much to cover that we just didn't get to some of things she would have asked, but other people had.
She kind of reminded me of a very skinny version of Edna from the Incredibles, but without the accent.
1p Hepatologist
I loved this woman. She was adorable and pregnant. We talked about livers.
2p Transplant Surgeon
First, he was hot. (I had to get that out of the way. It's important.) Second, pretty much most of the information that I had has changed.
Liver transplants can use a live donor. That is still true. However, you no longer need to match blood type or rH factor. A lot of it has to do with vascular systems as far as matching goes. So that's good news.
The cancer "bonus points" (which I learn are actually called "exception points") are now awarded differently. I was originally told that I would be placed on the transplant list when my tumor hit 2cm at a MELD score of 22 and increase by 3 points every 3 months. Now I get placed on the transplant list at my natural MELD score (which I found out is 9) and after 6 months, my MELD score will go up to 28. This system doesn't lose you any points, and gives them the opportunity to see how fast the cancer is growing. However, I'm not very patient. 6 months feels like forever right now.
I questioned him about an article that I had read that said live donor transplants were more risky (specifically in relation to UMPC). He explained that it's a high percentage drop. Yes, they had lost 2 patients who had had live donors, but when you're only doing about 14 of those a year, 2 results in a higher drop in percentages. Made sense.
Tuesday
Tuesday was test day. I had an ultrasound, a CT Scan, X-rays, an EKG and a DSE Stress test. The medication they used for the stress test had an incredibly bad impact on my blood pressure, so I have to go back for a Nuclear Stress Test.
Wednesday
9a Finance
I have some kick ass insurance. My transplant will cost me $21 (another $21 if I have a live donor) and $6 for the Anti-rejection meds. My mom breathed a ginormous sigh of relief. There are still other expenses, so there will still be fundraisers, but the cost of the surgery (exorbitant) will be covered.
930a Labwork
The vampires weren't as hungry that morning. Only 2 vials.
(Overall result of labwork, the only concern they called about right away was my Vitamin D levels. They were super low.)
10a Dexa Scan
This was the only test on Wednesday. It was a bone density scan. No biggie.
12p Nutrition
I HATE NUTRITIONISTS. Or more rather, I love food. I'm slowly altering my diet to reflect a low carb, low sodium diet. So basically, applesauce and lettuce. That's not true. I need to learn how to cook.
To finish off the absurdity that is a transplant evaluation, my mom and I went to see the Blue Man Group. They were awesome. So so awesome.
This got progressively less straight forward, but it's late/early.
March Schedule
2nd - Endocrinologist
7th - MRI and Dr. G (Liver guy)
10th - Nuclear Stress Test
11th - Local Oncologist Dr. S
14th - OBGYN Clearance Dr. W
17th - Local Therapist
18th - PCP Dr. S
24th - Dental Clearance Dr. B
