My mom came everyday. My dad and my brother came on Sunday. B had packed to stay at the housing, but that didn't happen. He either slept in my room or in the waiting room. I had no appetite, but I was allowed regular food. I was pumped full of liquids and my family kept taking double takes because I looked so puffy. I got up on Friday and shuffled around the hallway. I slept. I read. I listened to books on tape.  On Monday, 8/14, I was allowed to take a shower.   My mom led me to the "showering room" and we laughed at me trying to get in and out of the tub without help. It hurt a lot and I seemed like an invalid, but it was refreshing to be thoroughly clean.

08/15/00 I was discharged at 10:30 am. I was released with a prescription for Lasix, iron, folic acid and Tylenol w/ Codeine for the pain. I went home with the JP drain still in my side and was told to measure and record the output. Dr. Teperman was on hand for my departure.

The nurse came in and gave me instructions for discharge. The IV was removed and I was ready to go. As I was leaving, I spotted a familiar face in the hallway. It was DP. Her mom had come in for a visit to the transplant office and she stopped on the floor to see Dr. I said hi and headed to the elevator. Dr. T  greeted her in a patient room doorway. He told the  other doctors how DP was his hero and how she had saved her mom. My mom and I got on the elevator and we went home.  I was thrilled to see my dog and my OWN bed.  

8/16/00 I called the transplant team to say that the pain was much worse than I had anticipated. I asked if I could be given anything stronger than the Tylenol w/Codeine. I was told by Dr. M that this was major surgery and that I should expect great pain and that I could increase my dosage schedule to 2 pills every 4 hours instead of 6.

I remembered that Donna had had percoset. I didn't know what percosets were. I just knew that Tylenol w/codeine was what the dentist gave me after oral surgery. I began to take them at the 4 hour interval, but it had little effect.  It was difficult to sleep.  I was most comfortable walking, but then I was exhausted.  I figured I would just wait for it to get better.

 We kept a record of the drain output on a sheet of paper in the bathroom.  B dressed my wound every night. My mom stayed with us so B could go to work.

8/18/00 B wrote a letter to Dr. Teperman and the ICU nursing staff thanking them for doing a great job.

8/23/00 I went to the transplant office for my first post-op visit. The output of the drain had been consistent. I was seen by Dr. M. I complained of pain, but they said that was to be expected. I was told that I was doing well and to go home and return in a week.

Dr. M asked me how much I had been walking. I said 6-8 blocks a day. He said that maybe that was TOO much and that I could take it a little easier.

I also went to see Dr. K who removed the stitches from the surgical site. Unfortunately, we think he missed several and they remained in me.

Dr. K is a fast talker and a fast-mover. He remembered me when I walked through the door. He mentioned that surgery went well, removed the stitches and I was gone. Over the next few weeks, we noticed that a few stitches remained.

8/24/00 I didn't feel well. By evening, I had a fever and vomited. I called the transplant team. I was called back by D C and told to pick up a prescription for Cipro that she had called in. I was given instructions for the next day to go to the hospital to give blood for a culture and then visit the transplant office in the morning between 9 and 9:15 am. She would arrange for an ultrasound. After the call and throughout the night, we noticed that the color of the liquid from my drain had changed from a yellow to a dark brown and the amount I was putting out was decreasing.

8/25/00 I went in for a blood test. I went to the transplant office. We waited outside until F from the transplant office staff let us in at 9:20 am. D C arrived at 9:35 and told S (an office worker) to arrange for an ultrasound for me. My mom and I waited 2 hours for the test. I went for the ultrasound and was told that I had a blood clot in my portal vein near my liver. The ultrasound staff doctor called the transplant office and I was instructed to return there. When I arrived, a staff meeting was going on. Dr. M had received the call from Ultrasound and said that I would have to be admitted to the hospital. We waited another 30 minutes outside of the staff meeting until Dr. M and Dr. Teperman both saw me. Dr. Teperman said that I would be treated with Heparin (IV) and then Coumadin (orally) and that I would be in the hospital for the weekend and go home Monday night. I was then escorted by a transplant unit associate to a hospital room.  I was immediately started on a  Heparin IV. I vomited that evening. I was no longer on any pain medication except for plain Tylenol.

What could I do? The first doctor in Ultrasound CLEARLY saw something and called in her superior.  The Director of Ultrasound then came in and kept asking me if it hurt (OF COURSE IT HURT! I was ripped OPEN 2 weeks ago and you're PRESSING on it with the camera!) Then she left the room and came back to tell me the situation. She told me, "there is a blood clot in your portal vein. You need to get dressed. I need to call over to Transplant and you will have to be admitted right away." My heart sank. I just dreaded being back at the hospital and now I was going to be ADMITTED??? My mom and I followed our leader to the Transplant floor and I was put in the SAME room as my original visit. My recipient was still there, in the room next door. I was put on the Heparin drip and went to visit her. She could NOT believe that I was back . Of course, she felt awful at the prospect of my now having a blood clot.

Dr. Teperman left on vacation for 10 days.