6 month follow up

I a lot of time off the blog, but I continue to think about the purpose of this blog and one of the purposes was to educate people about being a living liver donor. So, there's a lot of space (6 months worth) that needs to be filled in. Rather than give all the details, you should know that life for me right now is great. My body has recovered from the surgery and in September I went into Kaiser for an ultra sound. My doctor told me that my liver had grown back completely and that my blood counts looked great. I know my liver has grown back because my appetite has come full circle. In fact, I'm at my pre-surgery weight.

I have found that my trips to the gym are pretty much back to normal except for my ability to do a full sit-up. My lower abs didn't take as much of a cut as my uppers. So, I'm working on increasing my abdominal strength. I found jumping a little strange at first, but fine now. I can't quite explain it, but a new scar feels like a growth on my body. The skin around it is a little numb still and I imagine it will always be this way. The itching is still there at times, but the scar looks really good. Maybe I'll take a picture of it for you.

I appreciate all of you following up with me to see how I'm doing. I am grateful for a healthy recovery, but I never had any question things would be fine with me.

Easter Sunday

I'm probably not going to be typing the best right now. I'm seeing a little bit of fuzziness in the words I type, but I read the blog earlier today and just had to comment on how much everything everyone said touched me! My mom said it perfectly a few days ago, maybe perhaps even at the same time I was lying in bed thinking about the cross I was carrying. The pain was a little more than I expected those first couple of days and I just had to think about how Jesus carried the cross and how it's Holy Week. My thoughts seemed to ease my pain completely.

I'm feeling pretty good most of the time and haven't needed too much pain medication. Neysa is napping and I couldn't close my eyes so I decided to type. I'm missing everyone back home. I hope everyone is spending time with their families and having a good time on this Easter Sunday. It's been really great having this time with my sister. She has taken care of every need and beyond. My back has been sore because of lying in bed and when I walk I can't really stand up straight. So there's a lot of soreness in my lower back. Her massages and constant care has really helped me improve and feel better. It's amazing how much your abs structure your body and your movements.

Dad continues to be in the ICU and they told Neysa and I today he is very susceptible for infection because of the dialysis machine and that we can't see him for a few days. We will arrange some times to talk by phone to let him know we are thinking of him. He is eating food now and they want to get him up and moving tomorrow. The doctors just came into my room and told me he is talking in sentences and he's still on dialysis. Dad was asking about his liver function and they told him it is working great. I know once they get him up and moving things will improve quickly for him.