Happy (#2) re-birthday!

[Guest guest]

To Ken (and Barb, TJ, Kim!) 6/29/07

From the archives of 2007:

SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2007 02:08 PM, CDT

First - Ken is out of surgery!

We waited 5 hours and I called the ICU for an update on the surgery, was put on hold, and 1 minute later they told me Ken's surgery was over and he would be back in ICU in minutes. Surgery took considerably less time than expected (and not nearly as long as the nurse said it would)! The 3 of us scurried over to the hospital and ran right into Dr McKenna who was looking all over for us. Dr McKenna did Ken's 1st surgery and, even though he was supposed to be doing a harvest in another city, he insisted on doing Ken's second surgery himself. (Ask the Henshaw's who we love and all 3 of us will shout Dr McKenna!) The second surgery was easier (not more complicated per nursing staff.) Dr McK said none of Ken's previous connections were leaking and were, in fact, starting to heal. The surgery went well; after removing the 1st liver they did a wash out and put the new liver in. Dr McK said it was a really good fit, all the connections lined up well, and it immediately turned pink and started to make bile! By the way, the new liver was an 'O' (not an AB as a nurse had told us, and we're not exactly sure whether it was from a male or female.) Anyway, Dr McK warned us over and over that Ken is far from 'out of the woods'. Too many things could still go wrong, especially infection, but T,K, & I have a good feeling about this liver.

Dr couldn't tell us why the first transplant failed, but he said it looked too good to be Primary Graft Failure, so he is interested in seeing the pathology report. All of Ken's cultures came back negative, throwing even more speculation into the mix. Doc said it could still be an infection (sepsis) or a hepatic infarction. We'll see, but honestly we don't care, we still have our Ken with us. We thanked DR McK and told him we'll take it from here - the mighty Henshaw's Four.

To the PSC group - Barb in Texas won't be coming back; I am now and forever changed by this experience. Your unwavering support means more to us then you will ever know. From now on, I'm 'Barb with love in Texas'.