I was in the hospital three weeks for upper GI bleeds and having the TIPs procedure to shunt my blood away from my esophagus. And, out of work for a week. I continued to work full time the next seven months, about a year after being diagnosed with Stage 3 liver cirrhosis. Then I got too ill and went to part time.

I was very blessed to receive my liver transplant a couple weeks later. I was in the hospital a month and a week, but I had a very bad reaction to prednisone, which caused additional complications. I also wasn’t getting enough protein, so had to be on a feeding tube. I had issues with ascites and I developed an infection. Then, stayed at a friends for two weeks as I live alone and they won’t release you unless you have some support.

But, again, the post transplant experience varies widely. Just try to stay as healthy as possible now. And, you would be wise to plan on training someone to manage your horse farm while you’re in the hospital and recovery.

There’s a tremendous amount to deal with beyond being sick, unfortunately. As I was rapidly declining in health and Covid was slowing down the whole transplant process I had to get a trust, medical papers in order, plan on what to do with my dog, condo, etc, And, since I was the only one who could do my job, my employer was amazing to keep me on staff until after my surgery. But, then I had to resign so they could hire a replacement.

But, I’m alive. And, while it was often a great struggle and it wasn’t always easy to stay positive through the last two years, I didn’t give up and I’m so very grateful that I made it!