This is what has happened so far....

On Saturday the 8th of September, my Mom was rushed to the ER because she had pain and discomfort due to constipation. The hosptal ran a bunch of tests and found out that she has stage 2 borderline stage 3 cirrhosis of the liver. It was clear that her alcohol consumption over the years was the cause. The hospital kept her because the withdrawl symptoms of alcohol can be deadly (tremors, nausea, vomiting, and seizures). The hospital performed 2 procedures: endoscopy (upper GI tract) and a colonoscopy (lower GI tract) to ensure she did not have any other illnesses (cancer, tumors, etc.). When doing the colonoscopy the Dr. found a polyp and removed it for biopsy. The biopsy came back as cancerous. But since they removed the polyp and found it at an early stage it is not an issue at this point in her life.

She was released on the 13th. She was staying at Shauna's house when she noticed blood in her stool. Long story short, the hospital determined that she had lost 4 pints of blood when she was rushed to the ER for the second time. They gave her a blood infusion that consisted of 6 units of blood. The hospital performed another endoscopy and colonscopy. When doing the colonscopy they found an open blood vessel that was in the same area where the polyp was removed. The Dr. cauterized the blood vessel.  Once her hemoglobin levels were stable the Dr. were talking about releasing her. Unfortunately, she had a fever and an infection in her bladder so they kept her for another 2 days for observation. She was released on the 18th and is now staying with Shauna until her Dr. appointment with the county tomorrow the 20th.

This Dr. appointment is crucial in order to get her a referral to a rehab facility. This is the next step on her road to recovery. When speaking to the Dr. and my mom about the damage done to her liver, the Dr. said that if she continues to drink she has only 1 year left to live. Having said that, if she quits drinking for the rest of her life and follows the Dr.'s orders, she has a minimum of 4-5 years left to live. I believe that 4-5 years left to live is a worse-case-senario. I am confident that with the right amount of nutrition and exercise that we can double the amount of time she has left. It is important to know that everyone's body is different. And I KNOW that my MOM is a FIGHTER and that she wants to LIVE. First thing first is for her to be checked into a rehab ASAP where they can give her the knowledge and tools necessary for her to battle her alcohol addiction. This has been super hard on everyone in the family, but at the same time it has been a huge wake-up-call! Alcohol addiction is serious and long term use can drastically shorten your quality of life. I hope that everyone is taking good care of themselves because no one should have to go through what we are going through right now.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND I HOPE THAT THIS WEBSITE IS HELPFUL IN KEEPING EVERYONE IN THE LOOP.