Brad Status 7-14-08

Well, I spoke with Dollie (Brad's wife) today about Brad's status. She had had a candid discussion with his doctor yesterday and had much news to give.
1) The transplant WAS a success and the doctor said that even though the new liver is now as bad (if not worse) than his original liver, Brad would've already died by now without the transplant.
2) The outcome at this point is not good. His bilirubin count as of Monday was 46! The doctor said that he'd never seen anyone in this shape, be able to turn things around and get better -- but NEVER to lose hope!
3) Brad is NOT a candidate for a liver transplant because of how quickly the HCV went through the last one. None of the doctors involved in his case have ever seen the disease ravage a new liver as badly and quickly as Brad's.
4) He will be going to the clinic on Mondays and Thursdays to have his numbers checked. He has been off the antirejection medication (in the hopes that his immune system will come back and fight the HCV) for 6 days now, but there is NO sign of the disease calming down yet.
5) She said that his coloring is almost orange and doubts that he is still at 125 pounds. She said that he looks like an orange skeleton and that the 'whites' of his eyes are completely yellow.... 'almost neon' is how she describes it. (And what I like about Dollie is that she does NOT exaggerate situations... she tells it like it is.)
6) She said that they have to keep Brad up and moving in order for his metabolism to stay up and that's the only way to get his immune system working properly.
7) She also said that the signs the doctor told her to look for as far as his condition worsening, is if he gets extremely confused or just can't stay awake. At that point, he is very close to going into a coma-- which he's already stated, he does NOT want to be on life support (and has said that for years).
8) I asked how he is doing now... He is so miserable. He's sick to his stomach, but is forcing food down (Ensure), and is just absolutely uncomfortable.
9) The doctor didn't give a time as far as how long he thinks Brad has left, but he did say that he didn't think he would die this week. He said it's really hard to tell, but they have done everything medically possible at this point and it's all a matter of waiting to see if his immune system will kick in to fight this off. We will see how his bilirubin count is on Thursday. That will probably be a good indicator of how things are going. Hopefully, the numbers will have dropped! The doctors have only seen 1 other person with bilirubin counts higher than Brad's right now... that person was at a 60, and passed away very shortly after.
I told Dollie that as much as this hurts to say.... I hope that he doesn't have to suffer much longer. He doesn't have the quality of life that he needs, wants or deserves. One thing that I love about Brad is that he has always lived by the 'Carpe diem' motto: Seize the day!