“In the external scheme of things, this evening is as brief as the twinkling of an eye yet such twinklings is what eternity is made of.” – Fred Rogers, 1928-2003 Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood debuted in the US in 1967. I was eleven years old then, far too old to take any interest in what was…
Yesterday I thought that I was reconciled to the fact that I was going to have to wait for Dr. Liver to get back to me regarding my MELD score. Yeasterday I really believed I was prepared to be patient, and wait for The Powers That Be look at my files and figure out what’s…
You know that feeling you get the day after you injure yourself? Imagine that you’re hammering nails, and manage to wing your thumb instead of the nailhead. You don’t do any real damage, but it hurts like hell afterwards. Then the day after, your thumb doesn’t hurt any more, but it still remembers that it…
I called and got my current MELD score, based on last Friday’s bloodwork. I’m so frustrated I could scream. I actually LOST a point … I’m down to a seventeen now. I don’t understand this in the least. My INR is higher than ever before. When I plugged Friday’s results into the on-line MELD calculator,…
“I said to Life, ‘I would hear death speak.’ And Life raised her voice a little higher and said, ‘You hear him now!’ ” -Kahlil Gibran Am I doing what I ought to be with the time left to me? Have I contacted everyone I’d want to be in touch with? Have I let people…
I swore off tests and quizzes months ago. They were taking over my diary at one point, and that wasn’t what I wanted my diary to be about. Sleep deprivation does strange things to a person though. With nothing better to do at 5:00 in the morning, I decided to take that Emode Inkblot Test…
Today started off quite slowly, and has managed to stay that way so far. I woke to the sound of rain against the windows of the bedroom. Checking the time, I was amazed to find it was 12:30 in the afternoon. I had a fair amount of sleep to catch up on, but I don’t…
The paracentesis did not go as well today as I had hoped. We only got 5.5 liters out of me. There was definitely more fluid in my abdomen, but we couldn’t get it to move into the pocket where the needle was inserted, so we couldn’t drain it. My bleeding times have greatly increased, and…
Ever hear this old chestnut? Q: What’s the difference between a surgeon and God? A: God doesn’t think he’s a surgeon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Talk today at the lunch table in the cafeteria touched on the plight of that poor teen in North Carolina who had the mix-up with her heart-lung transplant. She was waiting on a…
Reading my first comments, I had to pause to rethink my stance. I find it really hasn’t shifted. Yes, the transplantation mix-up in North Carolina was a horrid mistake. Yes, a young girl may suffer severe repercussions such as paralysis and brain damage, and possibly even death. Yes, someone lost a chance at a set…