Welcome to ihelpc
This Blog is dedicated to helping those who have Hepatitis C or Cirrhosis. I'm not a doctor, but I'll be your Best Friend.
Hope is a Spectrum of Color
Hope is not a single, clear emotion. It’s not a bright, polished stone we keep in our pockets or a banner we wave on the
Helping a Loved One with Hepatic Encephalopathy
There are some blogs on here that talk about my gratitude for my daughter becoming my caregiver. Here are some tips with love from a patient’s heart to yours.If you are helping a loved one with hepatitis encephalopathy, it’s a very lonely place. It’s still the most cringe and painful parts of my diagnosis with end stage liver disease. It was an uphill battle through liver cancer and transplant. It’s a helpless place for a patient. We’re loony tunes most of the time. Except it’s not funny to our caregivers. It’s not funny to us either, but we are SO out of it that we are just sitting around as happy little hepatic encephalopathy patients.
Spring Forward with Liver Disease
As daylight saving time begins, we welcome longer hours of sunlight—a perfect opportunity to be outside, move, enjoy life, and be active. However, for those
Being Doing and Relating: New Years Goals
As we step into a new year, it’s a perfect time to set intentions and map out goals that guide our journey toward growth, happiness, and fulfillment. This year, my goals revolve around three overarching themes: Being, Doing, and Relating. These categories serve as pillars for a balanced life, each representing a vital aspect of my daily existence. I hope it helps my liver loving friends too. Being Doing and Relating: New Years Goals I use the Keys2Success Planner on my iPad. It works so well
7 Ways to Reset and Recharge Before the Year Ends
7 Ways to Reset and Recharge Before the Year Ends
Mindful Merrymaking: Stress-Free and Healthy Christmas Tips
The holiday season is one of the most joyful times of the year, but it can also be one of the most stressful. Between shopping for gifts, attending social events, and preparing endless meals, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. My dear friend Katie has great ideas and is helping you think ahead and plan for Mindful Merrymaking: Stress-Free and Healthy Christmas Tips.
MELD Score: Liver Cancer and Other Exception Points
If you are looking for your MELD Score: Liver Cancer and other exception points, you’ve come to the right place. I ended up getting the extra points for liver cancer. If you have a situation where there are Extra Circumstances, you may get bonus points, or exception points too. In my case, they found a tumor that was Hepatocellular Carcinoma or HCC. It was 2014 and the rules allowed me to bump up 22 points. The rules for exception points changed soon after that to 28
Healing Hip Pain and Sciatica after Transplant
I didn’t even know what to title this blog. Here I am nearly 10 years after my HCC diagnosis, still alive, but dealing with hip and lower back pain that prevents me from ever cycling or running again. Listen, I am NOT complaining. Just being alive is a gift, and it’s one that I deeply cherish. I’m forever thankful to my donor and his family. That does not change the fact that I still need healing hip pain and sciatica after transplant. This blog will break it
What are Normal Liver Lab Values?
What are Normal Liver Lab Values? So many times, you get your lab values delivered in your hospital portal and have no idea how to understand it. By all means, talk to your provider about any concerns. Then, read on for just the facts about labs. Remember that every person, and every liver is different. Liver labs refer to a group of blood tests that evaluate the function and health of the liver. If you are wondering what are normal liver lab values read on. As
Hepatitis C Know More
Hepatitis C Know More Hepatitis C Know More -Dr. Howard Koh is recommending Baby Boomers to Get Tested for Hepatitis C is making recommendations that
You Can be Cured of Hepatitis C
It takes a leap of faith to go through Hepatitis C treatment. With the new fast acting medications, you can be cured of Hepatitis C.
I Don’t Want a Liver Transplant
Sleep is kind of like a thought eraser that swipes the day clean. But I frequently wake up in the middle of the night and remember the tumor. One night last August I awoke with the image of big clamps all around my chest cavity. Eyes wide open now, I saw myself lying on a table surrounded by doctors and nurses, my face as white as the fish I had seen floating belly up on the pond last year. I could see my head arching back with a tube tunneling down my throat that clicked and whished while forcing air into my lungs. I blinked hard and then stared at my chest as my breasts moved up and down. I wondered what it would be like to wake up in ICU with that machine on and my hands tied down. Shaking my head with an audible moan, I flung back the covers, and jumped out of bed like the house was on fire.
My heels drummed a hollow beat on the wood floor as I fairly flew to the kitchen. I stood in the dark. I don’t want a liver transplant. The thought of someone dying to keep me alive is more than I can bear. Of course there are a lot of other things that I don’t want. I don’t want to clean the branches up from the last storm. I don’t want to pay taxes or shave my legs. I don’t want cancer.