I know i seem to complain and feel down about my life often as it's very hard to stay positive but i do thank God everyday for all the blessings in my life. I will be eternally grateful to both my donors and their families for their wonderfull gift as well as for all the friendships i've made throughout my journey. I often feel so lucky to have met such wonderful people and found alot of love and support.
Hospitals are suppose to be a place which people fear the most but for me it's like coming home to family and friends everytime i go to Kings. I couldn't have asked for a better team to have look after me and plus all the other people i have met along the way such as patients, staff and families.
I just want to express my heartfelt thanks to some very important people who have touched my life in a significant way and has supported and loved me from the day i met them.
First of all my 2 Todd Ward Mummy's Linda and Emily, you both have been such a pillar of strenght to me, you're aways there when i'm down and there through the happy times too. I love you guys so much.
Carl, Eva, Joy & Louise, just some of the staff on Todd who not only looked after me in hospital but became good friends.
Prof Heaton & Prof Rela, for saving my life numerous times. I'll try and stay out of theatre for this year at least.
Jacomi, Rachel, Louisa R & Holly, thanks for keeping me sane and for being there when i ddn't know who to turn too.
David, you never gave up on me and thanks for visiting even when you had left Kings and for coming to the Ball.
Belinda, i know i was a difficult patient but you've become a great friend and i always look forward to our nights out. Will miss you so much hun when you leave London for good, but hey it will be a reason for me to visit Oz. Love yah babe.
Laura, Kirsty & Sarah T, i love you girls. Thanks for putting up with all my moaning and depression talks and for all the support.
I could go on and on listing people so to everyone who has been a part of my 'Liver Journey' thank you. I could never have got this far without you all. You are all blessings in my life that i will treasure forever.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Summer Ball 2009 - Bank Of England Pictures
Me & Dr David
Me & Hasan with 'THE MAN - PROF HEATON!'
Ed, Me & Clare
Me & Bee
My 2 Mummys
Me & Hasan
Me & My Mummy Lin
Me & Hasan with 'THE MAN - PROF HEATON!'
Ed, Me & Clare
Me & Bee
My 2 Mummys
Me & Hasan
Me & My Mummy Lin
Sunday, 28 June 2009
LISTEN Charity Summer Ball (June 27th 2009)
This weekend we held our first LISTEN Charity Summer Ball which turned out to be a lovely evening and we recieved great feedback from the atendees and the hospital staff. It was a glamorous and enjoyable evening, doctors and nurses ditched their uniforms and scrubs for tuxedos an ball gowns, patients out of the hospital gowns and all glammed up. It was a wonderful sight.
Alot of preparation had gone into making the ocassion happen and both myself and Karen (liver tx patient) put alot of time and effort and Karen was a godsend when she decided to come on board and actually ended up doing most of the work. Thank you darling.
Donna, our chaiman at LISTEN delivered a lovely speech and gave thanks to all the hospital staff on behalf of all the transplantees. Thank you Donna, very well done cos i could never get up on stage and do that. Also a huge thank you to the man himself Prof Nigel Heaton (transplant surgeon), your speech touched us all and we are all greatful for your presence and all the hard work you do with your amazing team to save lives. You certainly saved mine numerous times and it was a honor to be in your presence celebrating.
Thank you to all those who attended, contributed and supported us. This is the first of many! We hope that you could all come next year and we'll try to make it bigger and better.
Alot of preparation had gone into making the ocassion happen and both myself and Karen (liver tx patient) put alot of time and effort and Karen was a godsend when she decided to come on board and actually ended up doing most of the work. Thank you darling.
Donna, our chaiman at LISTEN delivered a lovely speech and gave thanks to all the hospital staff on behalf of all the transplantees. Thank you Donna, very well done cos i could never get up on stage and do that. Also a huge thank you to the man himself Prof Nigel Heaton (transplant surgeon), your speech touched us all and we are all greatful for your presence and all the hard work you do with your amazing team to save lives. You certainly saved mine numerous times and it was a honor to be in your presence celebrating.
Thank you to all those who attended, contributed and supported us. This is the first of many! We hope that you could all come next year and we'll try to make it bigger and better.
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
2009 Update...
Wow, where has the time gone??? Almost half the year has gone by and i haven't updated this blog not even once this year although i always intend to but just never get around to doing it.
Well it's been another crazy year but the GOOD news is that i have been OUT of hospital since November last year...YAY!!! Although that is great news it doesn't mean my life has been easier because it hasn't. It has actually been quite a sad and emotionally challenging year so far. I lost a few friends due to liver disease earlier this year and this past month 5 of my family members sadly passed away, one of which was so tragic that i can't seem to come to terms with it.
The most hardest thing i have had to deal with this year is fighting against my depression. I have been having counselling sessions since i was discharged last November and i have a few ups and downs and have even come to breaking point so have been put on anti-depressants and recently have been referred to mental health to help control my moods. Also tackling relationships and friendships has proved to be such a challenge.
Healthwise i am doing brilliantly in terms of liver function tests, although the pain and my wound is still a big issue and the pain is still controlling my life and the bad news is that my hernia and wound reconstruction surgery has been postponed until next year as my consultant and surgeon feels that it is too soon to start going back inside and risking damaging something else in the process so they felt more healing time is needed. I can understand where they are coming from but it means yet another year of my life is put on hold and i cannot pursue my nurse training this year which i was really looking forward too as my first step into rebuilding my life again. Therefore in the meantime i have taken up extra voluntary and charity work which i am enjoying.
Well it's been another crazy year but the GOOD news is that i have been OUT of hospital since November last year...YAY!!! Although that is great news it doesn't mean my life has been easier because it hasn't. It has actually been quite a sad and emotionally challenging year so far. I lost a few friends due to liver disease earlier this year and this past month 5 of my family members sadly passed away, one of which was so tragic that i can't seem to come to terms with it.
The most hardest thing i have had to deal with this year is fighting against my depression. I have been having counselling sessions since i was discharged last November and i have a few ups and downs and have even come to breaking point so have been put on anti-depressants and recently have been referred to mental health to help control my moods. Also tackling relationships and friendships has proved to be such a challenge.
Healthwise i am doing brilliantly in terms of liver function tests, although the pain and my wound is still a big issue and the pain is still controlling my life and the bad news is that my hernia and wound reconstruction surgery has been postponed until next year as my consultant and surgeon feels that it is too soon to start going back inside and risking damaging something else in the process so they felt more healing time is needed. I can understand where they are coming from but it means yet another year of my life is put on hold and i cannot pursue my nurse training this year which i was really looking forward too as my first step into rebuilding my life again. Therefore in the meantime i have taken up extra voluntary and charity work which i am enjoying.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Reflections of 2008
It's been another rollercoaster of a year starting great, then another major bump in the road but ending the year on a high. I can't complain because i'm still very fortunate to be alive and i've made some progress in my health despite other complications which i also managed to overcome. I've also made some amazing friends along the way as well as built on existing friendships.
The highlights of the year for me is the day i got discharged from hospital after 6 months and getting on a plane to go on my long awaited holiday to the US and seeing my family again after so many years. My wish for 2009 is to start living again and continue to grow as a person and hopefully start building my future.
Happy New Year Everyone! Have a happy and healthy 2009!!!
The highlights of the year for me is the day i got discharged from hospital after 6 months and getting on a plane to go on my long awaited holiday to the US and seeing my family again after so many years. My wish for 2009 is to start living again and continue to grow as a person and hopefully start building my future.
Happy New Year Everyone! Have a happy and healthy 2009!!!
Monday, 22 September 2008
Hospital Montage
Here is a montage of my latest hospital admission from March 11 - August 26 2008.
* Biliary reconstruction
* Stomach perforation surgery x2
* 5 months TPN due to enterocutaneous fistula
Thank you yet again to all those involved in my care @ Kings College Hospital and to all my friends and family who have supported me.
* Biliary reconstruction
* Stomach perforation surgery x2
* 5 months TPN due to enterocutaneous fistula
Thank you yet again to all those involved in my care @ Kings College Hospital and to all my friends and family who have supported me.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Here we go again…Round 3!
Yes you’ve guessed right. I have been away from this blog for a while because I have been back in hospital since March 11th. Initially it was an elective scheduled surgery that I was going to have my PTC tube removed and undergo wound closure and biliary reconstruction if need be. The surgeons being reluctant to do the surgery due to worries that they may cause other complications during the surgery as it is a very delicate surgery because of my ‘abnormal’ anatomy delayed my surgery by about 3 weeks. When my PTC tube was removed it was clear that I would not be able to go long with it causing another infection and eventually sepsis so they decided to go ahead with the surgery.
On the afternoon of April 5th 2008 I went into theatre, the operation lasted 4 hours and I was brought straight to LITU to come round. Luckily I was not intubated when I woke up as that was what I was dreading the most. Everything seemed to be going well, I was moved to the ward the next morning and everyday I kept getting stronger and feeling great and I was please at how my stomach looked. I was recovering so well that I was due to be discharged the next week.
However, bad luck decided to strike again unexpectedly that weekend. I was in immense pain that the pain relief was not helping so they put me back on the PCA which eventually helped slightly, however I then started leaking from my wound so I had numerous emergency scans which showed that I had a perforation within my stomach and that it needed to be fixed by surgery. I was immediatly put on the emergency surgery list for the following morning. After a restless night of immense pain I went into theatre early the next morning. After the surgery I was brought back to LITU for another day before transferred back to the ward again. Unfortunately that was not the end of my bad luck as it just kept getting worst over the next few months. 3 days later my stomach perforated yet again, which meant back into surgery for a third time but unfortunately for me it didn’t work again so they gave up on doing anymore surgery and tried another technique which involved me having to go on long term TPN and be nil by mouth for a few months until my stomach heals naturally.
Weeks and months were passing by and I was becoming so frustrated and depressed and the pain was often unbearable. They tried several times to let me eat again but it just kept coming back out of the hole in my stomach and at one point due to my dressings being done incorrectly resulted in a collection in my wound so it had to be re-opened and drained again which prolonged my healing time.
The final plan in July was to leave me nil by mouth again until September and to remain in hospital on TPN until that time as it was not practical to send me home on TPN or to put an NJ. However, they gradually decreased the feeding time which allowed me to be free to go out during the afternoons and to go home for a few hours every weekend. Midway through August my PICC line started to become very sore and it looked like it was becoming infected so they decided to take it out and scheduled me for another PICC line insertion but because the waiting lists were so long they estimated I would be waiting for a couple of weeks so they eventually decided to give me another shot at eating and thankfully nothing was coming out anywhere and I was keeping it down although I did feel nauseas at first but never threw it up and as they days passed and I managed a whole weekend at home my appetite was slowly getting better and so when I came back from my weekend leave they decided that they were happy to discharge me given that I promised that I would try to eat more as I could only tolerate spoonfuls at that point and my stomach has been used to not being fed for months.
I have been home 3 weeks today and all is going great, my appetite is almost completely back to normal. I have a lot more energy and my pain levels have subsided immensely, my main problem at the moment is the pain in my legs due to the arthritis and osteoporosis. Due to my stomach problems now my doctors have discontinued my medication for the osteoporosis as it causes stomach ulcers therefore my legs are getting worst, but I am trying to go back to physio and doing daily exercises to strengthen my bones. Also another thing that sometimes gets me down is my enlarged stomach as I look heavily pregnant and it’s just so uncomfortable and not attractive at all. Anyway, I try to look at it from a positive point of view and the main thing is that I’m alive!
I am now feeling more positive about life and I’m eager to get my life back on track and hopefully start to build a future and career for myself. Although for the rest of this year I just want to finish it taking it easy to fully recover but at the same time enjoy life and so am in the process of booking my holiday to the US for Christmas before I get stuck back into work and studies again next year as I am completely done with hospitals. I think I’ve had my fair share of struggles that it’s time for me to be happy as that’s the reason why I fought to survive...
On the afternoon of April 5th 2008 I went into theatre, the operation lasted 4 hours and I was brought straight to LITU to come round. Luckily I was not intubated when I woke up as that was what I was dreading the most. Everything seemed to be going well, I was moved to the ward the next morning and everyday I kept getting stronger and feeling great and I was please at how my stomach looked. I was recovering so well that I was due to be discharged the next week.
However, bad luck decided to strike again unexpectedly that weekend. I was in immense pain that the pain relief was not helping so they put me back on the PCA which eventually helped slightly, however I then started leaking from my wound so I had numerous emergency scans which showed that I had a perforation within my stomach and that it needed to be fixed by surgery. I was immediatly put on the emergency surgery list for the following morning. After a restless night of immense pain I went into theatre early the next morning. After the surgery I was brought back to LITU for another day before transferred back to the ward again. Unfortunately that was not the end of my bad luck as it just kept getting worst over the next few months. 3 days later my stomach perforated yet again, which meant back into surgery for a third time but unfortunately for me it didn’t work again so they gave up on doing anymore surgery and tried another technique which involved me having to go on long term TPN and be nil by mouth for a few months until my stomach heals naturally.
Weeks and months were passing by and I was becoming so frustrated and depressed and the pain was often unbearable. They tried several times to let me eat again but it just kept coming back out of the hole in my stomach and at one point due to my dressings being done incorrectly resulted in a collection in my wound so it had to be re-opened and drained again which prolonged my healing time.
The final plan in July was to leave me nil by mouth again until September and to remain in hospital on TPN until that time as it was not practical to send me home on TPN or to put an NJ. However, they gradually decreased the feeding time which allowed me to be free to go out during the afternoons and to go home for a few hours every weekend. Midway through August my PICC line started to become very sore and it looked like it was becoming infected so they decided to take it out and scheduled me for another PICC line insertion but because the waiting lists were so long they estimated I would be waiting for a couple of weeks so they eventually decided to give me another shot at eating and thankfully nothing was coming out anywhere and I was keeping it down although I did feel nauseas at first but never threw it up and as they days passed and I managed a whole weekend at home my appetite was slowly getting better and so when I came back from my weekend leave they decided that they were happy to discharge me given that I promised that I would try to eat more as I could only tolerate spoonfuls at that point and my stomach has been used to not being fed for months.
I have been home 3 weeks today and all is going great, my appetite is almost completely back to normal. I have a lot more energy and my pain levels have subsided immensely, my main problem at the moment is the pain in my legs due to the arthritis and osteoporosis. Due to my stomach problems now my doctors have discontinued my medication for the osteoporosis as it causes stomach ulcers therefore my legs are getting worst, but I am trying to go back to physio and doing daily exercises to strengthen my bones. Also another thing that sometimes gets me down is my enlarged stomach as I look heavily pregnant and it’s just so uncomfortable and not attractive at all. Anyway, I try to look at it from a positive point of view and the main thing is that I’m alive!
I am now feeling more positive about life and I’m eager to get my life back on track and hopefully start to build a future and career for myself. Although for the rest of this year I just want to finish it taking it easy to fully recover but at the same time enjoy life and so am in the process of booking my holiday to the US for Christmas before I get stuck back into work and studies again next year as I am completely done with hospitals. I think I’ve had my fair share of struggles that it’s time for me to be happy as that’s the reason why I fought to survive...
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