Praise God for Sarah's New Liver

Patty and I just met with Dr. Healey. The transplant went without a hitch. While they didn't begin the transplant until close to 9pm, they were finished by 4am. The team used the left lobe of the donor liver, the same part they would have used if it had been a living donor. They also took the portal vein as Sarah's had decreased so much it wasn't of much use and would have impeded proper blood flow. As is expected in these type of surgeries, a transfusion was required and Sarah received over half a unit of blood. There is also a concern about blood-clotting so they will put Sarah on heprin for a little while. Blood clotting around the liver can cause issues that would negate the positive effects of the transplant so they watch carefully for this. Dr. Healey also mentioned waiting for Sarah to wake up and see how she does with all the medications they are giving her. She has already begun a regimen of immunosuppression meds and they will watch the balance of those as needed so the liver is not rejected.

It goes without saying they will be watching her like a hawk in the PICU and Sarah will likely be there about a week before moving back down to our normal floor. We are going to try and get some sleep and then should be available for contact later in the morning.

Thanks to all of you who prayed continually through the transplant time and special thanks to Kevin, Debbie, Dianne, Anne, Di, Cheryl and Justin who stayed with us during the procedure, the last two have stayed the entire night. This has blessed us tremendously. We also want to thank the group of people who came and prayed for us at noon - Lou, Mary Ann, Kimberley, Jim, Anne, Justin and Brian.

As the day goes on I will post further information and hopefully some post-op photos.

We so much appreciate your continued love and support, and ALL the prayers being lifted up for Sarah.
Kirk