In My Shoes: So The Big News That Came Today

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

So The Big News That Came Today

So this afternoon I got a call from my transplant coordinator saying that I got cleared for Cedars. At first I didn't understand what she meant by getting cleared until she went on to say that I got accepted on the transplant list but she isn't sure if I am being listed with HPS. Also she asked if I have ever had a liver biopsy. I told her no (which I guess isn't true because I had one when they did my Kasai but to me it's not the same cause I was already open). Then she went on to ask well did you ever have a liver biopsy here (meaning at this facility)? So I told her no. Then I went on to emphasise that I haven't had a biopsy done. Well it turns out that after all that questioning Cedars wants to do one YAY!(sarcastically). I'm truly not excited about that and to be honest it's making me a little nervous. I know they aren't going to do it how they usually do. They told me at the evaluation that they would go through a vein in my neck. But still another thing that may seemingly be a little painful. I'm tired of people poking around on me. I mean enough already, let's just get to the part where they fix all this. Oh and about the being listed thing, I'm not sure if I'm all jumping for joy yet. I have to wait and see what my MELD score is. Oh and on another note: Saturday the countdown to my birthday begins because it will then officially be month until I'm 21. But that's the big news people. I will update you when I know more.
-Fiona

No comments:

Post a Comment

Biliary Atresia

Biliary atresia is a condition in which the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine are not normal. These ducts can be injured, blocked, or missing. When the ducts that carry bile out of the liver are closed, bile backs up and damages liver tissue. In time the liver can develop scarring or cirrhosis. The gallbladder may also be abnormal or missing. The cause of Biliary Atresia is unknown. It occurs in one infant in every 15,000 live births. It is a serious disease which requires immediate surgical and medical treatment.

Arteriovenous Malformations AVMS

I have been diagnosed with AVMS in my lungs do to my liver disease. These have caused me to have 2 lung bleeds which were very scary. I still have more AVMS and they are causing me breathing problems. Below is an explanation of what the AVMs are and a picture of what is happening in my lungs.

Arteries and veins are part of the human cardiovascular system. Normally, the arteries in the vascular system carry oxygen-rich blood at a relatively high pressure. Structurally, arteries divide and sub-divide repeatedly, eventually forming a sponge-like capillary bed. Blood moves through the capillaries, giving up oxygen and taking up waste products from the surrounding cells. Capillaries successively join together, one upon the other, to form the veins that carry blood away at a relatively low pressure. The heart acts to pump blood from the low pressure veins to the high pressure arteries.
If the capillary bed is thought of as a sponge, then an AVM is the rough equivalent of jamming a tangle of flexible soda straws from artery to vein through that sponge. On arteriogram films AVM formation often resemble a tangle of spaghetti noodles. This tangle of blood vessels forms a relatively direct connection between high pressure arteries and low pressure veins.
The result is a collection of blood vessels with abnormal connections and no capillaries. This collection, often called a nidus, can be extremely fragile and prone to bleeding.