Catherine (Wind)’s Story

Site created on January 22, 2019


Hi all,
Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated about my liver transplant. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting!

In July 2018 Wind was suddenly diagnosed with an auto-immune hepatitis that caused her liver to actually fail in most of its functions. Since then she has been under the care of Dr Reynolds, at St. Joseph's Liver Transplant Unit, in Phoenix, AZ. Both Dr Reynolds and his team have been very caring and respectful, and have given her various pharmaceutical drugs that have slightly improved her liver function. After a long series of medical tests in the Fall of 2018, Wind was put officially on the liver transplant list for the Southwestern region. That means a call to get a new liver could come at any moment, and Bluejay and Wind would head back up to Phoenix for what we expect to be 1-2 weeks of hospitalization after surgery, and a period of at least two months of actually living in Phoenix while the St. Joseph team does careful monitoring.  The prognosis for liver transplant is now quite good, with  St Joseph's being one of the best in the country with a 98% survival rate one year following surgery. The first six months after transplant is usually when a supportive network of friends and family are needed the most, or the entire burden of care falls on Bluejay.

The liver transplant is now the way forward, since without it only 30% of people survive such a liver failure after two years. Auto-immune hepatitis (AIH) is a rare disease affecting only 1-2 people per 100,000. They do not know what causes it, but it could be a combination of environmental and genetic factors. People can live with it for many years without knowing they have it until the liver fails completely, as it did in Wind's case.

Wind is often very tired and unable to do as much as she was used to, but both Wind and Bluejay are coming to terms with the reality before them. Thank you for your prayers and good energy - we can use all we can get as we go through this scary and stressful period of time.


Newest Update

Journal entry by blue jay

Hi All,

Bluejay here in summer-y, monsoon-threatening Tucson.  We hope you are well!  Wind and I are both doing OK!  Just today, after waiting since applying in April, Wind's insurance has agreed to support her requested transferal to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where they have already told her that she is a good "candidate" for a transplant!  She is happy, especially because she's been kind of in limbo regarding having a hepatologist or even a gastroenterologist at all since she told the other hospital, also in Phoenix, that she would like to transfer out.  And when we met the opening Mayo Team in April we were both eased in mind and spirit by their "togetherness" and professionalism. Everyone seems to have such respect for this Mayo outfit.  So we are both feeling hope about the future again.  What a relief!

And mystically, for those of us who are alternative healthcare folks, this hiatus has been a good time for Wind to research and find and work with two young doctors in the UofA Center for Integrative Medicine who have helped to relieve a lot of her symptoms (especially her excruciating, roving, hand-foot-leg cramps) which are common with so many women and certainly anyone who has been diagnosed with liver failure.  "Oh, I know what will work for you with that: "Magnesium SRT, a time-released Magnesium."  Well it works almost perfectly for her and has helped her quality of life SO MUCH in this whole ordeal.  It's one of the things that has given her energy to get out and do things again - and with freedom from pain. Other supplements they suggested seem to have almost cut her MELD score in half. (MELD = Measurement of End Stage Liver Disease)   And same goes for the true help, healing and comfort Wind received when she was referred to a marvelous Ayurvedic practitioner right here in Tucson. If anyone wants her contact info for an appointment she is quite the healer and I'll be glad to send you her contact info if you like.

So anyway, enuff said.  We are actually having some lovely days and nights here in Tucson all summer.  And our spirits go up and down as always, but we are still, often, very much enjoying each other's and others' company.  So give a shout if you'd like to visit or just call up.  There may be some storms ahead, but the calm is a great blessing right now.  Oh yes, and (with Wind's permission to post on this site) here's an interesting political link especially for democrats and all those deeply interested in peace and justice and the American Way...   Take what you like and leave the rest!
Tim Wise Political Analysis
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1152930670093787141.html
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