The Latest

Even though our updates are coming less often, Clark has had a lot going on lately. We have been at one of the three hospitals he frequents a couple times a week. There are three major conditions he is dealing with right now.

1. He was told last week that a bone marrow transplant is necessary and they are going to move forward with it as soon as he gets insurance. We have been in the application process for Medicaid since October and it is slow moving. We were just told yesterday that he was approved by the medical board, now need approval from the financial board. We need to fax them a lot of information and hopefully he can get approved. It will be such a blessing if he gets on Medicaid. I don't know what he will do without it. When he was discharged from the hospital he was at $1.3 million. Since then he has had MRIs, Ultrasounds, Biopsies, Home health care, prescriptions, and regular infusions. I bet he has already passed the $2 million mark. Anyway, back to the BMT, we don't have a time line because it's dependent on the insurance. They said they will probably use the adult rather than the minor for a donor, meaning Wyatt. They will look at other aspects of their health as well. Clark isn't scared for the BMT. He was somewhat relieved to have an answer and a plan of attack. He is dreading the hospital stay which will be 4-6 weeks if everything goes well.

2. A blockage was found in the liver in an MRI done just before Christmas. He is scheduled for a procedure to remove it on Thursday. They said there are a lot of risks involved in Clark's case. Some are excessive bleeding because of low platelets and infection to the liver. The blockage is in the bile duct, which has caused a bile leak. So they have to insert a drainage tube through his rib cage to drain the bile before they can clear the blockage. Clark was very worried about this procedure but received a comforting blessing last night that all will be well.

3. While at the hospital, they sent him for an urgent colonoscopy, which turned our 1 hour visit into 10. We haven't discussed this on the blog before because it is a little more personal, but Clark has had frank blood in his bowel movements. That's the best I can think to describe it. I can't say he has had blood in his stood because there is no stool with it. Since he has low platelets, there is a lot of bleeding! You get the picture. And just in case you don't . . . Often times it keeps him at home instead of going to church, family gatherings, or other activities. He can always tell when his platelets are low. They were surprised that he was walking and not in any pain. The colonoscopy showed that he has "a continuous area of bleeding ulcerated mucosa with nodularity and stigmata . . . " blah blah blah! Pretty much he has a tumor or ulcer in his colon. In Dr. Hutson's words, "I don't know what the hell this is. I have never seen it before in a liver transplant patient." He has a few ideas of what it could be but will not know what it is or how to treat it until they see the biopsies under a microscope. Worse case scenario, which we have become accustomed to consider, he will have that portion of his colon removed. More on this by Wednesday or Thursday.

Huh, is that all? Yes, for now that is all!