#cirrhosis

[martinkhall]

It's time for me to start plugging my wife's Go Fund Me again.

Donate to Support Kathleen's Battle with Liver Cirrhosis, organized by Kathleen Hiddema

Hi, I'm Kathleen, and I recently discovered that I have cirrhosis of t… Kathleen Hiddema needs your support for Support Kathleen's Battle wi

My wife @kathleenbrook was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver back in November. Due to the symptoms this has been causing, including brainfog, confusion, exhaustion, and extreme pain she is unable to work but not yet eligible for disability. When she looked into getting disability it was indicated that she needed to have the diagnosis for six months before she could apply.

Even if I weren't disabled by my combination of level 2 autism, adhd, anxiety, CPTSD, and depression (all exacerbated by high levels of stress like what I've been experiencing since the diagnosis) I would be unable to work because taking care of her is a 24/7 job that I receive no pay for. I am working on a disability application but am not receiving disability pay either.

We are fortunate enough that SNAP benifits are covering our food bills (Mostly. Things can get dicy with food about four days to a week before the card refills each month.) and Medicaid is covering our medical bills (except one specific medication the doctors want her on to help lower ammonia levels in her blood stream but we're working on getting them to cover that too and they have her on something else in the mean time).

What we have issues with and what we started this Go Fund Me for is help with money to cover day to day expenses that SNAP and Medicaid don't cover. Gas to get too and from appointments. Over the counter medications when she or myself has other medical issues. General household supplies like toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, laundry detergent, etc. And yes, occasionally some form of recreational activity to keep us sane while we're worried about the future and whether or not she's going to have one for much longer. She's stable now but that could change at any time and she's not going to actually get better without a liver they won't put her on a donor list for until her liver is doing much worse. We'd both been getting a lot of mileage out of my Drop Out TV subscription I purchased last year with our tax refund but that ran out yesterday so neither of us could even watch the second episode of City Council of Darkness.

Our families aren't exactly rolling in cash so we can't rely on them to cover all of this. So I'm having to rely on the kindness of Tumblr mutuals and strangers. Last month we did get a Go Fund Me donation just in time to get some needed supplies but we're starting to run low on various items again.

Literally any amount will help. If you're not comfortable using Go Fund me contact myself or my wife for our PayPal information. And if you can't afford to donate please reblog so it might be seen by someone who can.

[d7r02]

[cicadamoon]

I... don't know how to put this. I've spent the last week sitting next to my dad in the hospital while alcoholism takes its toll on his body. It's probably one of the worst ways you can suicide. And that's exactly what it is. A suicide.

I'm not going to pretend that I had a wonderful relationship with him, because we butted heads if we were in a room together for more than an hour. But, this is the man who called me almost every day just to check in; who taught me to fish and cook; who taught me to drive; who comforted me when my mother failed to be a mother; who taught me how to eat crawfish; who took me on little adventures, and so much more.

I can't describe how many times I (and many of his friends and family) cried, wrote letters, got into screaming matches, dragged him into therapy sessions, etc. We just wanted my dad back, without the leech of addiction.

Yet, the alcohol won.

I won't rant and rave and whatever else, but I'll slap this down as a reminder to those out there who maybe down one too many shots a day:

Your friends/family will find you distended and swollen with cirrhosis, covered in liver spots, and cuddling your favorite poison.

Your friends/family have to watch the doctor fail to get a tube into your stomach, because you keep fighting it.

Your friends/family have to leave the room several times, anxious that it might be the last time they see you.

Your friends/family have to hear the doctor say your liver and kidneys are failing while you groan and whine, completely unresponsive.

Your friends/family have to follow the nurses pulling your gurney from room to room because they can't figure out if you're stable enough to move to hospice.

Your friends/family will see your "last hurrah" and have hope that you might pop back.

Your friends/family will spend many a sleepless night hearing your "death rattle" even after you're gone.

Your friends/family will have to plan your funeral, separate your belongings, and clean up all of the empty bottles, boxes, cans, etc.

Your friends/family will cry and cry and cry until they feel numb, then cry again.

Your friends/family will spend the rest of their lives being eaten away by guilt and memories, wondering why they were never enough.

You matter, your body matters, and your life matters. So, put the fucking bottle down and pick up the goddamn phone, because someone out there gives every single fuck about you and had to put you at arms length because they couldn't stand to see your slow suicide. Talk to them, love them, and understand that not a bottle nor needle nor pill can cry when you're gone.

[hang-on-lil-tomato]

FUCK ALCOHOL

and fuck everyone who treats you like shit if you hate alcohol

and fuck Hollywood for showing every damn character swilling hard liquor. They aren’t real so they don’t get cirrhosis or destroy their families’ lives!

fuck anyone who thinks alcohol is cool or adult.

[mythrielofsolitude]

Probably starting hospice next month for dad. Liver medicine isn't working as well now and we're running out of options. Doesn't qualify for a transplant because of the alcoholism and age. Sleepless night over it right now. I'll be ok eventually it'll just suck but be so much less stressful. Couldn't put this on Facebook because he'd see it, he's still in denial. Happy 2025. Thanks for the love friends.

[proletaricat]

Also, in case someone finds this in the mire: I have been living with cirrhosis for 7 years.

When I was admitted to the hospital 12/26/16, my hepatic vein was bleeding: they stapled it, and I didn’t come out of anestesia for 11 days. My MELD was 37, and I had 80+ lbs of fluid that my liver wouldn’t process. I was intubated; I was on a feeding tube. I developed TRALI, and part of my lung is still collapsed. I had to learn how to walk again, to write, and my neuropathy is still so great I can’t feel my left leg.

Here’s the really important part: I never touched a single drop of alcohol ever again. When I was released, my life expectancy was predicted 3 weeks to 3 months - because people DO keep drinking. I was a high-functioning alcoholic for 10 years, and I attempted home detox three times. I -know- the pull of addiction.

But I also recognize having to FEED an addiction, the point where it stops being enjoyable and starts becoming an necessity. I also DID NOT want to die. Coming out of that hospital without a physical addiction to feed was a gift- an absolute God-given Miracle - and I did not take it for granted.

I was placed on the transplant list, I had to go every five or six days to have the bilirubin (the fluid your liver won’t process) drained via a catheter they punched through my stomach muscles, and again: I have an absolutely non-feeling leg.

…but I didn’t drink, and the need to have fluid drained stopped, because my liver was HEALING. Three years in, they kicked me off if the transplant list because my MELD had gone from 37 to 12. Now, it’s anywhere from a 6 to an 8.

What I am saying to you is this: cirrhosis is not the death sentence it once was, and I’m proof of that. There is hope for you.

[heardatmedschool]

“Cirrhotic patients, specially alcoholics, have always been systematically discriminated against, not only by society, but by healthcare staff as well.”

[junk-b0x]

What are you excited for?

to die && be with my baby who just passed . sorry nothing uplifting .