I figured I’d drop a few lines and give you an update on the ongoing saga that is my health. It’s confirmed now. Meine Leber ist kaputt. That’s German for my liver is broken. I’m not sure why I said it in German. I guess I thought it sounded more ominous that way. Most things do sound ominous in German. For example, Ich liebe Welpen. Now doesn’t that sound ominous? Know what it means? I love puppies. See what I’m talking about?

Anyway, back to my broken down liver. I was thoroughly dissatisfied with my gastroenterologist team that I had been referred to. I couldn’t get a straight answer on anything. How bad it was or what I needed to be doing. It just seemed like they didn’t have the time of day for me or my questions. Three days before Christmas I woke up very disoriented, shaking uncontrollably, and not even sure what was going on. My wife rushed me to the ER and I was admitted. The doctor I had during my stay was very patient and answered all of my questions. They determined that the ammonia level in my system was too high because my liver was not eliminating it. This causes a condition known as hepatic encephalopathy. The toxic ammonia causes decline in brain function.

They were able to give me some medication that got the ammonia level lowered over the next three days. I barely got out of there on Christmas Eve. I was discussing with my wife how I wish my other doctors were as helpful as the hospital doctor had been. That’s when we decided, once again, that I had to make a break with my doctors and find someone new. My wife works for a medical imaging company and through some contacts there was able to get me an appointment with one of the top liver specialist in the country. I had to travel a bit to get there but it was well worth the trip.

My new doctor has no bedside manner whatsoever. This may seem like a bad thing, but it’s not. I needed someone to cut to the chase and give it to me straight without any sugar coating, and boy did he ever. He told me that the cirrhosis in my liver was advanced and that my liver was heading into failure. There is nothing that can be done to reverse it. The only solution is a liver transplant. These things were hard to hear but they were exactly what I needed to hear.

Here’s the rub, though. As sick as I am, I have to be even sicker to qualify for a transplant at this stage. Yup, they have this complicated formula that looks like an astrodynamic calculation for a mission to Uranus (you knew I would use that planet). Once all the values are plugged in, out spits a number called a MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) score. The MELD score determines your priority on the transplant list. Right now, mine is not high enough. That might sound like a good thing, and in some ways it is. But in other ways it’s not.

My doctor told me that I can only expect things to get worse from here. The fatigue, pain, muscle weakness, and brain fog will continue. In addition, I’ve been told I shouldn’t drive, or be alone in case I have another bad hepatic encephalopathy episode. So, I’m basically home bound now. I have my MELD score updated every three months and that’s coming up soon. We are also looking into the possibility of a living liver donor. A compatible donor can give up part of their liver and they would transplant it in me because a healthy liver can regenerate itself. So there are options and all is not lost. I’m trying to stay positive.

OK, that’s the update. Enough whining. This small cog is not turning as smoothly as it once did, but it’s still turning.

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