Thankful

Ashley here...

We continue to be thankful everyday for mom's excellent health! When Bryan and I got to the lake last week, we found her looking awesome! She had gained some weight, and really looks about ten years (or more) younger. Her blood work continues to remain stable, and she is getting back to normal. No tennis yet...but I rarely saw her sit down this weekend!

We were blessed to have a visit from another transplant patient, Bill, and his wonderful family. They came up to the lake house for lunch this weekend. We had a great time with his two sweet children! We ate, played in the water, lounged on rafts, and did some fishing. Bill and mom talked about the transplant experience, and we are thrilled both are doing so well.

I had my last appointment at UVA (hopefully) yesterday. From the initial look at the MRI, our surgeon says that my liver appears to have grown back completely. He did say it grew back in a different shape. I wish I could see pictures of the MRI. I have some fluid build up somewhere in my abdomen, so the radiologist will look at that today, and let us know what s/he thinks. The doctor seems to think it is just left over from surgery. Since I'm not running a fever or feeling badly, he didn't seem concerned. I will know about the blood work later today.

Otherwise, we are just going on with life as usual! Two more weeks until I go back to work. I am looking forward to meeting my class, but a little nervous about the long days. I am considering myself fully recovered (minus heavy lifting and tennis), but my energy level isn't totally 100%. I feel myself gaining energy every day, so maybe in two weeks I'll be 100%.

Oh, the best part! We have pictures of the livers during surgery! As soon as I can reduce the size of the files, I will post!

We are so thankful that this process went smoothly!! :)

-ashley