@yaminaburleson I am 14 months post liver transplant and my diagnosis of cirrhosis- end stage liver disease- in March 2021 and it was sudden. I was driving and got very confused, taken to an Emergency Department and from there I feared for my life. I was 53 and my mother was 82. At one point, when I had to be rushed to the ER , I begged my wonderful mother not to let me die! How awful that must have been for her to hear. But she did save my life by letting me live in her sweet home, and helping to establish a healthy routine so that I could get through 7 months preparing for a liver transplant. Now I am a healthier, energized person and now I’m taking care of my own mother who is aging and getting weaker. I bring her healthy meals, take her places, and enjoy her company.

You may want to ask the GI about a referral to a liver transplant team for a complete evaluation. You can ask about your son’s MELD score which comes from bloodwork and helps tell doctors how “bad” your son’s liver is and therefore where he would be placed on a transplant list. Ask about the medications he takes for liver disease, and what they do for him.

My local gastroenterologist recommended, while I was very sick with liver disease, to eat a high protein diet that included meat and also plenty of other non meat protein including beans and rice, tofu, yogurt. I was told to drink lots of water to protect my kidneys, and to exercise everyday I could. All of this plus medicine plus my loving mother helped me steady myself and feel like I would live. The beginning was hardest. Lots of care to you and your son.