A Different New Years ...

For those of you who don't know, last night I just returned home from the hospital.... yes, again.

In December, my co-workers noticed I was turning yellow, eyes & parts of my skin. I went in to have my liver values checked. Who woulda thought jaundice in an adult, right? And no they didn't stick me under a UV lamp. My liver values were elevated, met with a GI doctor, CT scan, MRI, & set up with a liver specialist. On December 21st, I went in for a colangiogram (patient sedated, go into liver take pictures, insert bag to drain bile if needed). I woke up with a bag coming out of the left side of my liver (so just below my sternum). Since they go into your liver you have to stay they night due to infection purposes. The following week I went in for another, only into the right side. I was in an extra day as there was more pain because the tube for this went through my ribs & obliques. Friday night Paul & I were having a Sons Of Anarchy marathon, an all nighter! Only early Saturday morning no amount of pain pills was helping the pain I was in. Eventually, I fell asleep & woke up in a sweat. My temperature was up so ER bound on New Years Eve. Luckily we arrived before all the crazy drunks. This was my first new years I never had any champagne, however I was pretty high on pain pills singing & working on my turkey calls to Paul.
The left bag wasn't doing anything so it was pulled & my fever eventually broke. The following Wednesday I transferred to KUMed in KC, I chose this to see a more experienced liver specialist (if I was an old fellow I would've stayed w/my Topeka doc b/c he seems amazing just doesn't get many complication cases in young livers). Basically, all the pictures have shown is my liver is a wreck... but we are having to take it one step at a time because they ran cultures on my bile and I have 3 bugs (like staph, a fungus, & another - all names I can't pronounce). My doc had me get new liver pictures & a new right bag put in. Good news is this one is a lot less painful. For now, plan is to send my bag & me home with lots of antibiotics & observation instructions. I feel like Ms. B from Grandma's Boy. In 2 weeks I follow up with my infectious disease doctor & liver surgeon to find out what's next.
Until then my fingers are crossed.

Note: If you are in the Topeka area I recommend Dr.Challa at Kansas Medical Center for Gastroenterologist stuff; and any surgeon on Tallgrass surgical center (go specialists!)