After a great set of antibiotics, rest, and washing everything in sight thoroughly, I’m back to feeling like my normal self. Last Friday, I went in for bloodwork. My MELD score of 14, which is identical to the score from 2 months ago, officially put me back onto the active transplant list. The phone could ring at anytime. Likely, it won’t. As I said in an earlier post, cadaver livers are given regionally to those that are most sick, i.e. a high MELD score. The national cutoff for MELD is 15 or higher, meaning if a liver is available in New England, they would ship it to a different region before giving it to a person with a MELD at 14 or lower.
What’s next?
(a) Reactive Approach: Watch my MELD score increase as I become sicker, and eventually and hopefully be on the right spot on the list for a cadaver liver.
(b) Proactive Approach: More likely, we’ll talk to the doctor in February to schedule a live organ donation from Logan to me. Logan and I have our thoughts on when it might be, but we really need to discuss it with the doctor. As long as my MELD score is low, he’s willing to wait a little bit. We just need to know his definition of ‘a little bit’ and how it fits into our schedule. Nothing like planning major abdominal surgery!
Yes – we both are scared, terrified, and excited.
The Derek Janiak Hepatobiliary Forum 
Vivid report. Thank you for your candor.