They Tried to Make Me Go To Rehab...

Yesterday, Dad found-out he had insurance authorization to leave the hospital and go to a rehabilitation facility. As with most things we have experienced, this was a very frustrating process since we spent several days waiting for the insurance approval since he was medically ready for the next step of the recovery process after the long ordeal of transplant surgery and it's various complications a couple of days ago. I really do not understand why the insurance company would drag their heels like this (which I heard is very common) as it would only add to their bills, but I am trying to avoid this blog diving into the health care debate at this point.

To make it even more interesting, we literally were told at 5:30pm on a Friday that we had the green light to make the move from the hospital to the rehab center. Really? 5:30pm on a Friday? When there is no one around to have basic questions answered? When there is not enough time to grab some clothes at the hotel for Dad and try to arrange for a rental car for me? Yes. We were told at 5:30pm on a Friday.

Transferring from the hospital to rehab in style

Facebook Helps to Increase Organ Donation Awareness

I came home from the hospital last night to see an article that describes how Facebook is going to start encouraging organ donation through the ability for members to share their organ donation status on the ever-popular social networking website:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-01/Facebook-organ-donation-feature/54671522/1?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150792658168770_23024082_10150792715548770#fa5b3ac9

I thought the above article to be incredibly timely and interesting. My entire family has been very thankful for the gift of life that my father received. I hope that this outreach helps more families like mine.

Get Those Out of Here!

For those of you that do not easily feel queasy from medical-related images, today Dad had some of his staples removed from his incision. His belly is still pretty full of fluid (both from before and after surgery) and the photos don't capture the full length of his incision to his right side, but here is what it looks like 3 weeks after a liver transplant (and what a staple remover looks like, too--ha):

[Photos are shown in full post....]

Hospital Visits and Outings

I have a confession to make: the past 3 weeks have been very, very challenging for me. I also really hate to complain: Dad's prognosis is very good with the shiny, new liver that is still working well, Dad seems to have overcome ARDS, and Dad is still Hepatitis C-free.  I tend to be more optimistic than my father, however, going through all of the challenges since Dad had his transplant have taken a toll on me.

Thankfully, I had my husband and a few family members out here for a bit of the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, my husband went home last week and the rest of the family will be leaving soon. Like so many things, I take for granted how nice it is to have people around and am starting to get anxious about being alone with Dad once again in a couple of days. It makes me realize how tough Dad has had it while waiting for the liver transplant alone in a hotel room in Indianapolis while feeling sick and now having only a very short visit while actually conscious with anyone other than me. Again, how can I really complain?

Thankfully, I have had some moments that have provided some emotional relief for myself. I have been able to get a little gym and yoga time in lately and went out to a few restaurants for dinner the past week or so. Today, a few of us took Dad outdoors to get a break from the hospital room for a break and the weather was fabulous. To sit outdoors for a few minutes and enjoy the sunshine was great. We even snapped a few photos to mark the milestone:

Dad showing-off his adorable outfit

And We're Off!

Dad has determination, for sure, and it doesn't go unnoticed. Today, he was transferred from the TICU to the Organ Transplant Unit (OTU). After all that he has been through, including just getting off of the ventilator yesterday, he decided to combine his transfer with his physical therapy and walk there. It was pretty impressive!

As one physical therapist told him--this may be a new record!

Days 7-17: Just Breathe

I left you all at Day 2--not an intentional move, but this liver transplant has been quite an ordeal thus far. As Dad and I talked the past several years about a possibility of having a liver transplant, we both talked about what a large surgery it was and how there are so many potential complications. As one can expect with the luck of this family, this has been the case for Dad.  It has been quite a tough road since Dad came out of the second surgery (the fascia closure) on Wednesday, April 11 and there have been plenty of complications. The great news is that we have made it past quite a few big hurdles and I can try to catch my breath a little today.

I have had to remind myself several times to just breathe these past couple of weeks. Advocating for a close loved one experience significant medical problems, that in itself is not always easy. I suppose I knew that going into this, but you all can probably relate to how difficult to really know what something will be like until it actually happens. Watching my father rely on the ventilator to breathe for most of the past 17 days...wow...just breathe indeed.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/vent/printall-index.html

Day 2: The Comedian

Yesterday was the beginning of a new journey--Dad with his shiny, new liver. Well, Dad with a "very nice" liver from a donor that just provided Dad with a shiny, new future. It does not get more generous than that: giving someone--particularly a stranger--a second chance at life. Wow, pretty crazy to really let that one soak-in--I'm still processing that part of the past couple of days.

The last 30 hours or so have been a whirlwind for me, but I have spent the past 20 hours in a TICU room with Dad and watched him start the recovery process. Modern medicine is amazing and the staff at IU is great. Dad is also quite a patient {sarcasm}!