Surgery

At 4:30 a.m. May 27, 2008 I was taken to the OR. When they came and got me from ER, saying good bye to my family was a wake up call. I really didn't know if I would see them again. We said our good bye's and I was taken into the OR. I don't remember a lot, but I remember it being cold, and white, and noisy!! I was on the OR table and my arms were stretched out like I was on a cross. They sat me up to get things ready, and across the room was a pink wash tub and two doctors holding this huge pink organ!! I said "Is that my liver"?? The nurse said, "yes it is, isn't it beautiful"? The doctors were putting the bile ducts into the ports. And that is the last thing I remember for about 9 days!!

On our way

We left the house and dropped Brooke off, and headed to IU. We got around the corner from our house, and my car was out of gas. So we came back home and got Britton's car and then were on our way. We were 'truckin' down 70, and we passed .. flew by a State trooper. His lights came on as soon as we passed him. We pulled over and Dave waved him to pull up beside us, he pulled up and Dave told him we had to get to the hospital for a liver transplant. The officer said "Go For It".
We got there in 20 minutes.
Dave let Britton and I off at ER and I checked myself in. Nervous and scared I told them I was here for a liver transplant. I got in a room right away and stayed there until 4:30a.m. when I was taken in for surgery.
My mom, my sister Marla, and brother in law Jason all came right away and just hung out in the floor! My friend Kristen came up to and stayed in my bed with me until I was taken back. It was a very small room.
The doctors came in and told me that my liver was flying in from Ohio. They told me I was getting a pediatric liver from Ohio, and that's all I knew. I prayed for that family.

Getting on the transplant list

So.. I'll try to keep this short~ I did about 3 months of testing for transplant work up, to make sure I was healthy enough to have the surgery. I had to have: a drug test, pulmonary test, bone scan, treadmill, heart cath, MRI's, CT's, chest x-rays, colonoscopy, see a dietitian, psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker.. I was finally cleared for transplant and went on the Donor List on April 2, 2008.
I'll skip ahead to the day I got the call--At the time I worked for Plainfield Schools. I was an assistant with developmental preschool.
I got "The Call" Memorial Day night, at 11:45 p.m. The kids just went to bed, and Dave and I were still up. The phone rang and it said I U Hospital. I just stared at the screen and I said, "Hello" and the other end said "Lynn this is Kristy at IU hospital, and we have a Liver for you". I said "What did you just say', she repeated it, I had her on speaker phone so Dave could hear. While I was on the phone with her, I started calling people on my cell phone. -- She said you have 20 minutes to get to the hospital! Britton yelling from her room, "Can you take that off speaker, I'm trying to sleep." Dave went to tell her "Get up, your mom just got a liver"~ Brooke had a friend spending the night so we got them both up and had to take them to her friends house. Brooke had a test that day. I had nothing packed so I threw some stuff together and off we went. I was a nervous wreck!!

Where My New Life Begins

So.. I'll try to keep this short~ I did about 3 months of testing for transplant work up, to make sure I was healthy enough to have the surgery. I had to have: a drug test, pulmonary test, bone scan, treadmill, heart cath, MRI's, CT's, chest x-rays, colonoscopy, see a dietitian, physiologist, psychiatrist, social worker.. I was finally cleared for transplant and went on the Donor List on

April 2, 2008. It was tough waiting!

I'll skip ahead to the day I got the call--

At the time I worked for Plainfield School System.. with special need pre-school.

I was out of school for Memorial Day week-end, then I had 3 days of school left for the year. I got the call Memorial Day night, at 11:45 p.m. The kids just went to bed, and Dave and I were still up. The phone rang and it said IU HOSPITAL.. I told Dave, and just stared... I said "hello" and the other end said "This is Kristy at IU hospital, and we have a Liver for you". I said "What did you say"? She repeated it and at this time I had her on speaker phone so Dave could hear. I gave him the phone and started calling people.. Britton was in her room, Yelling: "Can you take that off of speaker!?? I'm trying to sleep"!!

Dave went to tell the kids, "Get up!! Mom got a liver".

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.