Feel so helpless, my friend is waiting for an emergency liver transplant

[GColdtimer]

I don't really know why I am posting, just not too sure what to do with myself. My best friend's husband has acute liver failure, they do not know the cause (its probably viral) and yesterday he went on the emergency liver transplant list.This is all happened over the last 2 weeks and it is such a shock. Between her friends and family we are making sure she is not alone. I am just hoping and praying for a doner. Then I feel so bad because for that to happen, it means that someone else will die and someone else's friends and family will be going through hell. It is just so bloody awful.

Has anyone else been through this?

twofalls, have you encountred LVOC on here? her Dh ahd a transpalnt this year

prayers and hugs to you X

two falls, yes i have do u want to email me?

No I haven't peachy, I might look her up. thanks.

pmsl.... she's psychic!

Oh hello, are you missdee? If so, yes I ahve come across you. Thanks so much, that is really lovely of you. How do I do that?

And now I am repeating myself. Honestly, I'm not myself!

i'm more like spoooky mulder

djmisdee hotmail com

btw, i can reassure you that feelign the way you do is perfectly ok.

i wrote this the day after dh heart transplant

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Thank you, whoever you are
Yesterday morning, someone was greiving. but in their deepest grief, they gave my husband a chance of life. They gave us hope, and gave our children something to smile about again. I will probably never ever know these people, who donated their loved ones organs, or how many other lives they saved yesterday, but i know one thing, and that is I can never ever ever thank you enough for this. Organ donation is a wonderful gift to give, if only i could capture all the high emotions myself, my extended family, his extended family are going theough right nwo, to give you an idea of what this feels like, i would but its impossible, its also impossible to describe the sheer releif i am feeling now. there has been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and the air is just thick with emotion. I keep breaking into manic grins and when i went to the shop earlier, i wanted to shout it from the rooftops, that my husband had been given the most amazing wonderful gift ever, a new life. but i didnt because they might think i was crazy. The world seems brighter somehow, i cant explain it, i really really cant, but life is better already.

thank you forever and a day, who ever you are.
'

If your friends husband has acute liver failure, it is probable that he will go on the super urgent register. I only have experience in paediatric liver transplants, but once on the super urgent list, an offer is usualy received within a few days.

Is he at Kings?

Thanks, LV, what you wrote is amazing, I just so hope my lovely friend will be able to echo your feelings one day very soon. And thank you for the offer. I may take you up on that.

And yes, he is at Kings and is on the super urgent list. Actually, you have reiterated wha t they said about it being a few days, thank you.

If he is at Kings, he is in the best place to be in the world right now - and that is not an exageration. They are world class.

Once he has been transplanted, if all goes well (which is likely he will as I am guessing he has been fit and healthy up until now) he will be in ICU for a couple days, then onto the ward.

Statistics for success are on his side.

Is he in ICU at the moment, or still on the ward?

yes, super urgent list tends to move very very fast!

dh was on super urgent for his heart. took a bit longer than a few days, but was very quick.

Oh and remember that when the offer comes through, that person did not die for your friends husband.

twofalls, if you friend wants to email me as well thats ok also. i know they probably wont wanty to now, but the offer is always there.

Thank you both so much.

He is in ICU. I went yesterday (we live in Oxford), and he was quite alert and doing OK.

its good he is alert.

is he hooked up to any machinary?

Good news, the better he is going into the op, the better he will recover.

The ward he will be on after the transplant (Todd) is next to the Liver ITU. ITU can be a scary place, but the ward is actually quite nice (if a hospital ward can be described as nice!)

Yes, quite and he is on something to help his kidneys which is working well I believe.

It certainly felt scary yesterday, but everyone is so lovely. I just wish I was closer but then I would much rather he was in the best place so it just means a bit of to-ing and fro-ing over the coming days/weeks/months.

The machine he is on for the kidneys is probably a filter. It removes the toxins from his body (which is what the liver would normally be doing), to help with the side effects of encephalopothy (irritation of the brain).

Kidneys are one of the first organs to pack up when the body is going into meltdown, so the filter will keep his kidneys going. As he's on it before he goes to theatre, he will probably be on it for a few days after the transplant.

yes, peters kidneys were failing before the LVAD,and they can throw a bit of a strop after transplant as well, but its generally a short term issue and usually resolved quickly.

much love to you, your friends and their families.

Oh I see, that is what I thought was the case.

Do you work there?

Hi saggar, yes I have name changed. Things went badly, well as badly as it can get really.

No I don't work there, just know a lot about the place as I've spent the past 7 months there with ds.

Oh no. If you want talk and would rather not on here, mail me jaxp63 at hotmail dot com.

Sorry for hijack twofalls.