We have so much to be thankful that it is hard to put into words. We first and foremost thank God for his steadfast love through the tough times. We thank the donor and their family. We thank all of the wonderful friends new and old who came out to help us in our time of need. We take our hats off to all of the doctors, nurses, technicians and all of the medical staff who make a transplant possible.
There are many pros to having a liver transplant, just as there are many different types of people who have transplants. If you were to talk to a group of transplant recipients you would find that the main pro is staying a live.
Being able to continue to live and love.
Being able to give back to others through your experiences.
My husband underwent his liver transplant eleven years ago. He was an Deputy Sheriff when he became ill, and had always been healthy. During the process to find out if my husband qualified to receive a liver transplant we were surprised to realize how little people including ourselves knew about the liver and a liver transplant. Many people thought that you had to be a drug user or an alcoholic to have your liver cirrhosis, even some thought going on a dialysis machine was used to clean a bad liver. We as others found out that their were many causes for the liver to start dying. The cause for my husband’s failed liver was never discovered but two theories are one the fact that he took a lot of aspirin due to migraines. The other is when as a Deputy Sheriff he went to an accident where there was a chemical spill in which he inhaled quite a lot of the chemical.
To understand the pros and cons of a liver transplant a person needs to understand what the liver does.
The liver manufactures proteins, including albumin which helps to maintain the volume of blood and blood clotting factors.
The liver also metabolizes and stores carbohydrates, which are used for the source of the sugar or glucose in the blood that red blood cells and the grain use.
The liver detoxifies the body by metabolizing environmental toxins, drugs and alcohol to name a few.
The liver forms and secrets bile that contains bile acids to aid in the intestinal absorption of fats and the fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E and K.
The liver by metabolizing the potentially harmful biochemical products produced by the body, such as bilirubin from the breakdown of old red blood cells and ammonia from the breakdown of protein
One of the major cons of a liver transplant is the knowledge that someone had to die to give you life. Then a person has to realize and understand that their life will never be the same again.
As does all transplant patients my husband will have to take an anti rejection drug for the rest of his life. In his case he takes Prograf. The Prograf unbeknown to us causes plac build up in the arteries of the heart as well as other side effects.
My husband has to take 12 different medications in the morning and 19 at night along with 4 shots per day of insulin. My husband has had to have 7 angio plastics and has had 17 stints put into the arteries of his heart due to the anti-rejection drug.
My husband is 100% disabled due to the surgeries and medications that he has to take.
Another big con is the financial burden that is thrust upon the recipient of the transplant and his/her family. The cost of the medications, surgeries to name a few.
Even with all of the cons of having the liver transplant the pros even though they seem few, outweigh the cons. Life is never a waste and is a gift from God and we all must live it to the fullest no matter what are health is. Due to the transplant my husband is here to enjoy life with me our daughter and to enjoy are Grandchildren. I sometimes feel that if it were not for our Grandson and Granddaughter, my husband may not have had as much will to live. So a special thanks to Logan and Kaitlyn.
