News about Liam

Latest Entry | Previous Entries | Submit a Comment | View Photo Gallery

August 14, 2007

A beautiful message from Liam’s bed side. I’m so proud to be her husband:


What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was a day of contrasts. We went from Oh, God! To Praise God! We thought the worst was over - then we needed to start again almost from scratch. Liam finally was extubated, but would return from the OR once again, covered in tubes. We went from peaceful to distraught; confident to concerned. What we learned was that the THIRD time truly was the charm!

Not to be overly dramatic, but in reality, Liam's life was saved yet again by Dr. Jorge Reyes, his liver transplant surgeon.

I will do my best to explain why this third surgery turned out to be such a gift:

Human anatomy has never been very interesting to me, but because Liam always seems to be "the exception to the rule"; the unique situation; within a small percentage of cases... you get the picture. I've got a better understand - and an awe-struck appreciation of the puzzle God created as the human body.

Here goes... The liver and the spleen were designed to work together. They are connected through a series of arteries and veins - pretty much like tree trunks and branches. The two main blood sources are the Hepatic Artery and the Portal Vein. Liam's second surgery turned out to be a repair of the portal vein, which was kinked due to inflammation, and once corrected, allowed adequate flow to Liam's new liver tissue. The hepatic artery, which is much smaller, is designed to allow blood flow to the liver bile ducts as well as to the spleen. The Splenic vein then moves the blood out of the spleen and into the liver. I'm not sure if all that is too clear, but here was the problem. The portal vein had such tremendous pressure going into the liver (Also known as portal hypertension which has been the culprit of many problems for quite some time now), that the hepatic artery was unable to do its job and it's flow was significantly decreasing with each day. The initial thought was that the hepatic artery was not going to be strong enough to do what it needed, so the team would be creating and arterial graft, connecting the aorta directly to the liver, severing the connection of the hepatic artery, and thus allowing equal pressure from the new graft and the portal vein.

When the surgeon got inside and remeasured the blood flow, what they learned is that the portal vein and the hypatic artery were both open and blood was flowing. This lead to further discovery that the problem actually lied with the spleen, which was stealing blood from the hypatic artery through the splenic artery. Dr. Reyes explained that in 20 years of doing liver transplants, he has only witnessed this on 4 patients - and it was always at autopsy that it was found. It was a fatal condition caused by disproportionate pressure which eventually causes the splenic artery to actually rupture at the spleen connection, causing massive blood loss and immanent death.

Dr. Reyes was able to tie off the splenic vein, which was MASSIVE, thus returning a healthy blood flow from the hepatic artery to the liver. PRAISE BE TO GOD! and to the answered prayer that He, the mighty physician, would guide the heart, mind and hands of the surgeon. Dr. Reyes said that he had NO IDEA what led him to the splenic artery as a source, but once he was there - he knew!

It is funny how the mind works. So often I find myself trying to listen to the doctors, the nurses, the techs, to better understand and just be aware of the medical side of what is going on. I have been an active participant in the roller coaster of changes. I would hear things like "the plateletts have dropped substantially" or "I'm not seeing adequate blood flow" or "the fluid in the drainage tubes is increasing"...and my mind would want to engage with "Well WHY? and What are you going to do about it"... Then suddenly it hit me. "You're not going to do ANYTHING about it...it is already being dealt with" and a peace came over me. God is in charge of all of the detail - all he has called me to do is to LOVE in this moment. I think I have greater understanding of what Liam's world must be like. Don't think too much about the future, because there will be worries there too! Focus on the present - tomorrow you will be given the strength to handle those issues. Today is about the here and now. As a friend recently reminded us in an email. Liam got new liver so that he could LIVE...and that is just what we are all learning how to do! Thank you for that "duh moment", sweet Liam!

Today is a GREAT DAY!! Liam will be extubated in about an hour, the tub in his nose that pulls bile and secretions from his tummy will be removed at the same time, and a little later today, the foley catheder will also be taken out.

Liam's prognosis is FANTASTIC and not only is his liver happy in its new home, his home is finally loving the new liver!

I would like to tell you that you can get off of your knees now, but I think we should all spend some time there, in gratitude and praise for answered prayers!!

On a lighter note, Dr. Reyes IS in the market for a wife. He is catholic, he is clearly brilliant, and he is dedicated to LIVING LIFE (and saving lives) - As if saving Liam's life (3 times so far) wasn't enough, no wife experience is necessary!!

Today and every day, let's remember to cherish the moments!!