it's a dog's life prologue 

My Web Log
    I won't bore you with the story of my life, instead i'll just tell you a bit 
about my 2 year struggle to live. In 2002 I was diagnosed with liver failure 
and was quite promptly told by my doctors in Atlanta that I was going 
to die, they could not do anything to help me. Shortly after that I was 
hospitalized with double pneumonia because of severe fluid buildup in 
my chest and lungs. I called 911 when I started having great difficulty 
breathing and I was put in intensive care and I lapsed into a coma the 
same day I was admitted. I don't remember anything of the following 
month, all I do know is that I died and came back to life at least twice. 
I woke up a month later and was whisked back to New Orleans by my 
family. My entire life was changed suddenly and I lost pretty 
much everything I owned in Atlanta. Thus began my 2 yr struggle to 
receive a liver transplant.
     Shortly after arriving in New Orleans I saw a family doctor that recommended 
me to go see a group of doctors at the Transplant Institute of N. O., part of 
the LSU medical network. They confirmed my diagnosis and interviewed me t
o help the staff of doctors and surgeons to decide if I was a suitable subject to 
receive a liver transplant. Luckily I met their psychological criteria and was 
approved but that meant I would become subject to a battery of tests to see 
if I was cancer-free and physically capable of surviving 10+ hours on an operating 
table. Again I passed all the tests. I know I make this sound easy so far but 
it wasn't. I would now begin an 18 month long odyssey of severe illness, barely 
alive at times and barely able to walk and talk when I was not bedridden. 
My mother cared for me and was a rock thru the entire ordeal and I just can't 
describe how good she was. She kept me going in spirit even when I wished I 
would just die from the suffering. I truly did not think I would make it, many many 
times. Let's skip ahead to the actual operation.
    One day the hospital called me, out of the blue and announced they had 
found a suitable replacement liver for me and said to get there pronto. I arrived 
and was quickly washed and readied for the operation. My anticipation of 
receiving a new liver, balanced against the possibility of rejection from my 
body made me very nervous to say the least. I was afraid but overjoyed at the 
same time.
    Shortly after they cut me open my blood pressure started dropping and they 
had to abort the operation because they couldn't control my heart. They 
stapled me back up and I woke up in recovery and was told that my ordeal 
was far from over. I did not receive a new liver and that I now had to recover 
from the surgeries with out the benefit of a new liver. Needless to say I was 
extremely ill now, horribly weakened and my body full of poisons that a healthy 
liver would normally remove from your system. All I had to show for it was a 
14" long scar below my ribs going east-west and another 5" long going north 
adjacent from the long one. I have a normal 34" waist and a 14" long scar 
meant they nearly cut me in half!
    6 weeks later July 9, 2004 the hospital called and said they had another 
liver and they wanted to try again. Well to make this story shorter the new 
liver immediately went to work removing all the toxins in my system and 
helped immensely with my recovery. I still had a long way to go. I could 
not even feed myself at first but I quickly started to regain my health. 
Physical therapy to recover my strength and a wonderful staff of 
nurses and doctors at Memorial Medical Hospital made it much easier. 
I owe these people many thanks and my undying gratitude. 5 months 
after the operation, here, the day after Christmas of 2004 I am alive and 
doing very well and am writing this to express that gratitude. Please do 
not pity me for the suffering as there were many many moments of joy 
and laughter in my life thru my journey to live. Instead laugh with me 
as I write about whatever pops into my head at my Web Log "it's a dog's life" 
hosted by Google. 
  Here is a short list of people I would like to thank: