Sir Oliver

After much discussion, Kirk and I long ago decided to name Jaisal's liver Sir Oliver. We liked the name Oliver, but thought it needed a title to recognize its importance but also it's age in comparison to Jaisal himself. We also liked the fact that the name has the word liver in it and that it can be called Olli for short.

So how's Oliver doing these days? Pretty good, but not exactly where we'd want him to be.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, a few of the liver function tests are still elevated. This recent infection also causes a bump in liver numbers which makes it harder to know whether Jaisal is experiencing rejection. BUT Jaisal's bilirubin, which we were always so concerned about pre-transplant, is normal. Jaisal doesn't look jaundiced at all! The whites of his eyes are white, so beautifully white.

And since the bile is flowing through Sir Oliver so well, Jaisal's body actually is absorbing all the fat and vitamins from his food. Sir Oliver is helping Jaisal gain weight! In the 3 weeks since discharge Jaisal gained almost 2 pounds. (Admittedly he lost a little of this gain with his recent infection, but he's getting his appetite back so I expect him to keep packing on the pounds.)

Now that Jaisal has a liver that isn't cirrhotic, blood can flow through properly. Jaisal no longer has portal hypertension. The extra veining over his chest is gone. His spleen has almost returned to normal size. His belly is flat. Thank you Sir Oliver.

And although we never thought Jaisal lacked for energy pre-transplant, the kid is the energizer bunny now. He is constantly on the move. He's on the verge of running, loves building things up just to knock them down, finds it hilarious to throw things and make us pick it up, and attempts to climb everything. He does something new every day and it is beyond fun (and exhausting) to play with him each day.

We know there are going to be bumps and trials along the way. Transplant is a chronic condition, but we are so happy that Sir Oliver (and the Vogels) have given us the opportunity to try to live our lives with medical issues as a secondary focus to watching our little man grow.