How I Found Out I Was Sick

In September 2000, my family and I went to our Hometown Parade. My sister Marla and I decided to donate blood at the Indiana Blood Center 'bus'. Plus they were giving out free COLTS shirts that said, "I BLEED BLUE FOR THE COLTS". About a week later, I received a letter in the mail that said my liver enzymes were elevated, and I needed to see my doctor right away. So I made my appointment. My doctor ran blood tests and my liver counts were very high! This went on for about 6 months, checking my counts every month. My counts kept getting higher, so he refered me to I U Medical Center to Dr. Lehman. He is a Liver doctor that goes all over the country doing a procedure called an ERCP. A scope ran down my throat into my stomach into my intestine's. I was under Dr. Lehman's care for about 7 years. In October of 2007 my health started to decline quickly and I was turned over to another doctor, Dr. Naga Chalasni. He is a "Pre Transplant" doctor and would be my doctor, up until I needed a liver transplant. I was put on several meds to keep my liver functioning as long as possible. In February of 2008, my doctor basicly told me I needed to start my work up for Transplant.

Where My Story Begins

Written Feburary 2008
My name is Lynn Livingston and I am 43 years old. I was diagnosed with PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) in 2001, when I donated blood at a local parade. The results showed that my liver enzymes were extremely high. I immediately saw my family doctor, and after many tests and meetings with a liver specialist, I was diagnosed. PSC is a rare liver disease, (three in 100,000 get this disease) that scars the bile ducts, restricting the flow of bile, and causing it to back up into the liver, which eventually causes liver failure. Initially the PSC was controlled with ERCPs, which is a procedure where a scope is inserted through my mouth and moved into my bile ducts, allowing doctors to remove the scarring and allow the bile to flow normally again. The scarring kept returning, however, and eventually was in a part of the liver that the scope was no longer able to help. Because the liver was unable to drain the bile fast enough it slowly began to quit functioning, which led to the diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver in 2006.