Hi @calikellyw and welcome to Connect from me too. 🙂 I can't imagine being listed for so long, waiting! You must bed doing well though if your MELD is at 9 now, that's great.
I was waiting for not quite a year and a half at Mass General Hospital in Boston. I do know that in CA the waits are generally longer and they tend to transplant at higher MELDs. Massachusetts was that way too but I somehow got fortunate and got my transplant at MELD 28. It was a good thing I did because during the six weeks prior to transplant I was going downhill.

I did not have a bariatric sleeve but I did lose quite a bit of weight prior to transplant -- working at it, not because I was ill and not eating. I wanted to lose weight because I felt it would help in my recovery. I read recently that they are feeling the bariatric surgery is a better option because then the patient is less apt to gain weight afterward. I must admit I have gained 10 pounds back and am struggling to lose them now.

Please feel free to ask any questions you would like answered. We each tend to have our own unique experiences with waiting and post-transplant.
JK