|
|
 |
| Welcome to LTS Members Stories |
| This area of Liver Transplant Support is
here to give you inspiration and a chance to see others views
and experiences. We would like all of you to send us your story.
Recipients, friends, family, living donors...anyone. The more
we have on here the more others will be able to read and see
that although everybody's experience is personal, there are
others out there going through it also. |
 |
|
George
Bailey-Haigh - The Founder of Liver Transplant Support
My first thoughts that something was definitely wrong
with me became apparent on a holiday to Cornwall and
Devon. Visiting Boscastle, a pretty fishing harbour
nestling in a deep valley. Once we had looked round
there was a coastal path that had to be climbed. It
was on this ascent to the top to admire the view that
I became extremely breathless and for the first time
ever just had to stop to try to calm myself. This was
exhaustion like I had never really experienced before.
On my return from my vacation I started investigations
into the cause of the shortness of breath. At Southampton
General Hospital blood tests and ECG's including a cardiac
catheter showed mitral valve regurgitation. This was
not the reason for my condition. I was then referred
to the hepatology unit and they started more in-depth
investigations. Firstly CT scans and ultrasounds of
my abdomen. Then booked into Nuclear Medicine whereupon
there was seen to be a problem detected with my blood.
Not a lot of information was given to me at this time
but, just to frighten me a bit, I was asked to attend
tests for hepatitis and have an Aids test. The waiting
period for these results took all attention away from
my day-to-day tasks.
READ
GEORGE'S FULL STORY HERE>>>> |
|
| |
|
Karin
Staub-Leigh - A success Story
From a talk given at the Royal Free Hospital
The Queen in her Christmas speech in 1992 spoke about
her Annus horribilis. Last year I had mine. I nearly
died in Hospital whilst waiting for a liver transplant.
In summer 1995 I had been diagnosed with Primary Biliary
Cirrhosis, an incurable liver disease. The cause of
the disease is unknown, but it is generally thought
to be an autoimmune disease. Despite what many people
think, it is not caused by drinking alcohol. PBC is
a progressive disease that leads to cirrhosis and liver
failure.
This diagnosis had been confirmed in October 1995 here
in this Hospital. One of the doctors said I had 5 -
10 years to live whilst another had previously estimated
up to 15. The only cure would be a liver Transplant.
Although I had asked the question of life expectancy,
it found it very difficult to deal with the answer.
Dying was not something I had ever thought about. -
I suppose nobody ever does unless directly confronted
with it.
READ
KARIN'S FULL STORY HERE>>>> |
|
| |
|
Andy's
Story - IT HAPPENED SO FAST!
My story starts in the summer of 2004; I had contracted
tonsillitis for which my GP prescribed antibiotics.
This cleared up and then I immediately developed an
inner-ear infection. Again antibiotics were prescribed
and the condition cleared up.
However the day after completing the antibiotic course
everything changed, I woke up feeling unwell and the
yellow-faced apparition staring back at me from the
mirror was scary in the extreme. My wife was as shocked
as I was and so it was back to the GP, the subsequent
blood tests showed poor liver function. The second set
of blood tests showed a slight improvement, but by then
I was losing weight rapidly and feeling more tired than
I ever thought possible. The only amusing side to this
was my children said I looked like Homer Simpson!
I was referred to my local hospital in Taunton, Somerset
where I had the good fortune of being referred to an
amazing consultant. It was late in August and my body
was filling up with fluid. The afternoons were the worst
part of the day, my legs took on elephantine proportions,
and it was extremely uncomfortable.
Despite this, I forced myself to keep going and carried
on working, my consultant offered me a hospital bed
while he awaited all his test results, I chose to keep
going.
READ
ANDY'S FULL STORY HERE>>>> |
|
| |
|
|
Frank's
Story - "is there a television in this room"
Hi everyone, My name is Frank Callender and I live in
a little town in Texas about fifty miles Northwest of
Austin. Austin is the capitol of Texas. In 2002 I was
diagnosed with End Stage Liver Disease and placed on
the Liver transplant list. The doctor I had had tried
to treat me with interferon and it was not successful
in arresting the disease. The failure of my liver was
brought about by getting infected with hepatitis B and
it mutated to another strain labeled D. Now I believe
the only treatment for this dual infection is transplant.
The first indication that I was aware of came when I
was riding my bicycle near my home. There is a pretty
steep hill by my house that I had to climb to get back.
While I was pedaling up the hill fatigue overcame me
and I had to get off the bike. It was All I could do
to push the bike up the hill. Then a few days later
I was trimming a oak tree by my house and was overcome
again by fatigue. Both of these activities are things
I did on a daily basis prior to this with no problem
at all.
READ
FRANK'S FULL STORY HERE>>>> |
|
| |
|
|
Paul's Story - "I shall never eat liver again!"
There are many emotions that spring to mind when I am reminded of my own liver transplant back on 1st April 2006.
My story started way back in March 2005 when as a result of moving house I had to register with a different doctor’s surgery.
As part of normal procedure when doing this I was given the once over by my new GP, after all , as she put it to me, she wanted to know just what she was letting herself in for. Little did she know!
I was already being treated with high blood pressure and the first thing we discovered was that the medication I had been prescribed with some years earlier was not in fact working at all and my BP was way over what it should have been. The last of my checks was a urine sample, which when given, raised more than eye brows. Is it always that colour? She asked – a deep orange. I replied “only first thing in the morning” and commented that “I put it down to the large glass of fresh orange juice I always drink first thing”.
Needless to say this together with blood samples were sent off for analysis and a week later I was told that as she had suspected I had a liver or possibly a kidney problem which needed further investigation and quickly.
READ
PAUL'S FULL STORY HERE>>>> |
|
| |
| |
|
|
