Liver transplant - Let's support each other

Hi Brianna I’m a 57-year-old male I was diagnosed back in 2010 up in Boston Massachusetts and have been on the waiting list since then I was told I should try the mayo clinic in Jacksonville so I am down here for the month I’m glad that your surgery went well at your age of 60 they told me that the cut off age was 55 so knowing that you were 60 and had it done successfully I am glad to see the end results thank you for sharing your story with me it’s just nerve-racking to be waiting and waiting and waiting and not find a donor I was doing the deceased donor and also a live donor some of my family and friends couldn’t do it because of their BMI and because some of them had too much fatty around their liver so they went on special diets to get approved on the list and then they were denied because they incurred too much scar tissue So that took them off the list automatically they can no longer be a donor for a liver I just want to put this behind me so I can go on with my life I have been through a lot and still am going through a lot I haven’t had any major issues nor has my skin or eyes turned joined us I pray every day that this gets resolved again thank you for sharing your story and God bless

@brianna, I understand what you are going through. Where are you being evaluated? Because right now there is another member who is undergoing evaluation for a liver transplant in Jacksonville.
I was diagnosed with PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) that made me nauseous, jaundices, fatigued, with ascites,..and eventually kidney failure. I transplanted both a liver and a kidney in 2009 when I was 60. Immediately adfter I came out of surgery, I felt like a new person. I could breathe, taste food, wanted to eat, rgained strength and have been blessed with good health ever since.
My secret to surviving was one day at a time, and a good team of doctors who directed me along the way (and I listened and did exactly as they said).
This might be too much information, however I was asked to write about my journey -
Pages >Transplant >Staying Positive While Waiting for a Transplant
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/newsfeed-post/staying-positive-while-waiting-for-a-transplant/

Your strength is inspiring. I'm glad things went so well for you. Thanks for the information about numbness. I had not heard about that yet.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am currently in the process of evaluation. I have not been added to the list yet. I'm really not feeling well and I'm just scared. I would love advice about how you kept going when things got so tough.

@brianna yes that was very quick. I went home after just 4 days. I was the poster child for liver transplant patients at Mayo Jacksonville :). What I did not expect during my recovery was being numb in my abdomen where my new liver is. I will be numb there for the rest of my life.

Hi, @manuelhsilva. Are you currently on the liver transplant list? What have your doctors said about whether you would be a candidate to get a living donor?

Wow! That's really quick. I think that I was thinking it would take weeks before you felt that strong. Thank you for the information. Is there anything that happened during your recovery that you didn't expect?

@brianna in reference to asking how soon you can walk after your liver transplant, I was up and walking within 8hrs. after my transplant. Everyone is different and recover at a different rate of progress.

Hi, @brianna. Welcome to Connect. I am happy that you have joined us. This is a great question, and I will share my experience with ascites, as long as you understand that everyone of us is different in how our body acts with liver disease.
Have you had a paracenthesis? It is a procedure that is administered to drain the excess fluid that collects. I needed one around every 10 days and a good volume of fluid was drained each time, and my "pregnant" body was normal again for a couple days.
As for walking, I have always been a walker and a casual hiker. I could barely walk across the room pretransplant, because it left me breathless. After transplant, I was able to slowly begin walking to build up the wasted muscles and my endurance. I transplanted in the month of April, 2009 and in October 2009, I was given the approval by my transplant team to hike again. My husband and I went on some hikes in the Great Smokey Mountains.
Brianna, are currently on the transplant list and waiting of an organ? How can I help you as you move forward?

Hi and thank you for your reply I am very happy that your transplant went very well however my blood type is O negative and I’m looking for a liver transplant a donor if you can please share this I would appreciate it thank you