"He's Not Out Of The Woods Yet"

Clark returned to the operating room today so they could clean everything out, check that the liver is working properly, and change the dressing. Dr. Schwartz, the head surgeon, came to talk with us for the first time since the transplant and explained Clark’s current status. He said that the insides are still swollen but they were able to bring the muscles slightly closer together. They will go back to the operating room in a couple days to “get some more stuff closed up.” From every other stand point Clark is doing exceedingly well and the liver appears to be functioning properly. He said it took a couple licks when putting the liver in because it was a little older and its time out of the body was a little longer than they would have liked. Because of this, it will take the liver more time to recover. He feels that if they didn’t use this one, Clark may not have made it. It was the only organ they had at the time and it’s better than the one he had. He said they could have waited to see if another one would have come along but he didn’t think there would have been. There is a chance that Clark could potentially develop problems in the future but they will watch for that closely.

For now the liver is holding its own. Clark’s blood supply looks good which was the biggest concern. They continue to get rid of the extra fluid that has accumulated, which is normal at this point in the operation. Clark has developed a little bit of a fever so they are watching for signs of infection. Before they took him in for surgery, Clark was grabbing Dr. Schwartz’s hands and giving a strong handshake. He said that if Clark didn’t have a big hole in his belly you probably wouldn’t be able to tell he’d been through all this. He warned that it’s a marathon type experience, not a foot race or 40 yard dash. Everyone needs to prepare themselves for the long haul. Clark is making improvements day by day but he will probably be in the hospital for another 2 weeks. He will be waking this afternoon when the anesthesia wears off and will be back to the mental status he was at this morning. Dr Schwartz ended our consultation by saying, “All things considered, and given how borderline he was at the time of his transplant, we are very pleased with how well he’s doing but he’s not out of the woods yet.”

We’re excited to see and talk with him again. Even though some of this news makes us nervous, we will focus on all the positives, which are many!