ERCPs and Egg Hunts!

This past week things got a little touchy with my health.  I started having more complications (internal bleeding), accompanied by LOTS of severe pain in the area of my liver.  Against the wishes of my family, I resisted the urge to turn myself over to the ER, mostly because I had a terrible feeling they were going to keep me and not let me go, once I showed up with all of these problems.  I was just not ready to be confined to the hospital any sooner than I absolutely had to be.  But, by Thursday afternoon things got bad enough that I decided to call my doctor.  They told me to come straight to Vanderbilt early the next morning to be evaluated.  

So, around dinner time on Thursday evening my Mom and sister packed up and left Tallahassee, headed for Tennessee and were prepared to stay however long they needed to.  They drove late into the night and stopped in Birmingham to spend the night.  Matthew and I left Jackson at 6:30 a.m. Friday morning and arrived at Vanderbilt about 9:00.  My Mom and sister met us there shortly after we arrived.  (We had Kyndall with us and they came there to get her since we didn't know what to expect as far as being admitted to the hospital)

I saw both my GI doctor and my liver doctor.  We were able to figure out the source of the bleeding and they treated it as best they could, but it's still a serious issue since my liver is no longer making the proteins necessary for clotting and even a small amount of blood lost could turn fatal.  I was very upfront about the pain I had been having and how debilitating it has been.  He agreed to do another ERCP, but it was not without great risk.  I've had many ERCPs done in the past but at this stage of liver failure it can end up being more detrimental than helpful.  BUT....thankfully he saw how much pain I was in and agreed to proceed.  I was immediately sent downstairs and prepped for the procedure, where they quickly worked me in by some miracle!  (Normally it takes several weeks to get on the schedule for these types of procedures)  Mom and Kelly took Kyndall back to Jackson and Matthew stayed with me.

I woke up from the ERCP feeling better already!  This is typical, as I usually get immediate relief once they go in and clean out the bile ducts during the ERCP.  They used a different type of anesthesia this time so it took a little longer for it to get out of my system and in turn they kept me later than usual.  BUT.....They let me go HOME!!!  Woo hoo!!!  I didn't have to stay after all and I was SO thankful for that!  They sent me home with strict instructions to return if any other symptoms were to arise.  

I felt really good the rest of the night, just a little groggy from the anesthesia.  We were all exhausted from the day's events so after I returned home and spent some time with my Mom and sister, we all crashed for the night.

The next morning I woke up feeling really good!  No pain to speak of, which was such a welcomed relief!  I decided we should take advantage of it while it lasted, so we enjoyed a beautiful Saturday at the park, complete with a picnic lunch!  

Mom said nobody would believe how sick I've been if they saw this picture, but I say it's a testiment of how much BETTER I was feeling after one simple procedure!

I never thought I would say this, but I am SO ready for my skin to match that of my pale pasty daughter's!  If one more person asks me how I got my nice "tan", I think I might lose it!

If given the choice between playing on the playground and picking flowers, she will ALWAYS choose the flowers!  She could do this for hours!

Giving baby Wyatt some love!

Wyatt at 21 weeks

I wanted to take some pictures of Kelly in the wild flowers but when Kyndall saw her laying in the grass she insisted on "fanning" her with these pine branches.....

Then she said she was a "cheerleader"

Back to picking flowers........

After we left the park we did a little shopping, ran a few errands and ended the night by meeting up with Matthew for dinner.

Sunday morning we slept in and skipped church because Mom and Kelly left in such a hurry that they didn't bring appropriate clothes.  Plus, we were all pretty tired from the day before.  Even though I feel good, it doesn't take much to wear me out.  We slept in and then Aunt Kelly and Kyndall worked on some crafts together......

I had been planning to take Kyndall to a community Easter egg hunt at the Old Country Store for several weeks but I actually didn't know if I would be here to do it.  I really assumed that by now, I would have already been called for transplant.  I was very happy that on Sunday afternoon I was able to be there to watch her in her first official egg hunt of the year!  

We got there a little early so we decided to walk around the Old Country Store and do some browsing......

At the start line, waiting for the bell to ring!

She's off!.........

We ran into our friend Elzy!

The Keen Family

After the hunt was over we went back inside the store and had ice cream and some lunch.  It was a fun afternoon and I'm very thankful that I was able to be there!

Mom and Kelly are leaving tomorrow morning since everything seems to be ok with me for the time being.  I've had a little bit of pain come back, but nothing like it used to be.  I guess you can't expect perfection from a liver that's on its way out anyway.  At least this will buy me some time until I get the call, which should be any day now.  I am still #2 on the list so my bags are still packed and we are still sitting on go!