Doctor Checkup – June 6th

Yesterday we went back to Lahey for blood work and a checkup with the doctors. The doctor I was supposed to see was in surgery in the morning, so I ended up seeing one of the surgeons that did all three of my surgeries. The blood work came back with very positive results: all the numbers were lower. The bilirubin was down to 2.9 (from 3.2), and the white blood cell count was down to 6.66 (from 11). The doctor was very pleased that all the numbers were on the decline. Once that review was out of the way, we talked about my staples and scar. It was time to remove the staples!

After he removed the last staple he asked, “Now that you’ve made it through the tragedy, what are your plans?” I didn’t understand the question, and it took some follow-up discussions to get at what I think he was really asking: “You have a new liver that’s better than before – how are you going to make the most of the hard work that we did?” We talked about exercise, going back to work, swimming, travel, and a bunch of other random questions. Basically, his philosophy on recovery is: the more exercise the better. Logan and I have been a little conservative, because we wanted to make sure we didn’t end up with hernias, ergo, walking was the only thing on our daily agenda. We were encouraged to attempt as much exercise as possible, as long as our abdomens don’t experience pain. There may be some discomfort, but that’s very different than pain. No more sitting on the couch eating bon bons. Logan and I are on the Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Universe workout plan – without the steroids. Well, I’m still on steroids, but not that kind of steroids. Or maybe we’ll just walk more and add some other exercises to increase our muscle growth.