9/23

I went to UPenn today for my initial discharge follow up today and it went well. I have maintained stability over the past 3 day, which is awesome to say the least.

I will need to go there at least once per week for monitoring for quite awhile since I am still so fragile, however, I have been sticking closely to my new dietary restrictions, medications & rest. I am mainly only working on my self care to ensure that I make it through this, which is ultimately gracing me with starting to “look like myself again.” Looks obviously do not show the true feeling of how a person is doing, but after feeling so terrible for so long just seeing my face brighter today was a huge boost to my self esteem which helps so much!

Having a community rallying around me and being so supportive of my recovery.

I hope so much that as I face all of this isolation this year and med changes etc. especially after already basically being bedridden for a year before being faced with this full isolation year that the self esteem will continue to rise and the depression and anxiety with decrease.

At my appointment today I learned that I also had tumors in gallbladder (which was being removed as a part of this surgery anyway). When it was biopsied it showed a tun of benign tumors in my gallbladder and local lymph nodes. My liver biopsy showed cause of this cirrhosis was autoimmune disruptive behavior that got extremely out of hand at an extremely fast pace.

I was honestly days, weeks or maybe a month or two left on this earth and received a miracle transplant. I knew that by the way my body was telling me how weak and tired it was. I just knew. I could feel it.

My daughter has been having struggles as well after her surgery as well as being back to work and being back to college with her fulltime schedule. All while trying to manage the hormonal changes in her body and physical changes due to the thyroid being so involved with all of those things. She has been in pretty close contact with her doctors as well this week and last. Please keep her in your prayers. I will get to see her hopefully this weekend.

It does also lift me up more that I am able to answer her calls most of the time when she has questions about her health etc., because what mom doesn’t want to care for their sick child? I was unable for so long that it feels great to being able to answer her most of the time.

I am napping often and focusing pretty much only on me now though so I can get stronger and be the person I am and the mom I want to me.

Thank you all for being you. Continuing to reach out and check on me :) It does encourage me more as well, although sometimes it does add extra stressors on me because I do feel the constant need to reply so no one is left out with the updates. Just know if I don’t get back to you for a few days it is not me ignoring you. It is me, preserving myself and my energy so I can get more and more like my “old self”.