November 17, 2023, Chris had pain in the gallbladder area and went to Piedmont Athens ER to get checked out. Things did not go as planned and he left Piedmont with a cholecystostomy tube, a tube between his ribs that went into his gallbladder to drain it. This tube unexpectedly had to stay in for 4 months.
Chris’ liver is heavily scarred and struggling. In order to remove the gallbladder, Chris was evaluated by the Liver Transplant team at Emory in January 2024. He was placed on the Liver Transplant list temporarily, as a ‘just in case’, in order to have the gallbladder removed. Emory removed his gallbladder in March 2024 and the 15 months since have been full of ups and downs in his health.
May 9, 2023, Chris had a TIPS procedure at Emory. They placed a shunt in his portal vein in the liver to reduce the pressures in his other veins. This seemed like the right move and at first he felt fine, but he is now on day 16 in the hospital. Doctors are trying to find the right balance of medicines to keep Chris’ ammonia low.
May 26-30 Chris stayed at Piedmont, after being released on that Friday he had to return to Emory ER overnight. His ammonia levels were so high that he could only tell me his name, he was in complete confusion and did not understand what was happening. Chris has been at Emory since May 31st, 10 days, as they have found a blood clot in the liver. This has been a long and frustrating stay as most of the days are spent waiting to see the doctors during their daily rounds. We are still waiting to hear what the doctors at Emory want to do.
All we do know is that eventually, Chris will need a Liver Transplant.
The past two years Chris has been between working, unemployed, short term disability and long term disability. All of those funding sources have run out. He started a new job on May 12, great company and benefits, but has now missed the last 2 weeks and we aren’t sure if they will let him come back.
When he does have a Liver Transplant, he will not be able to work for at least 6 months and they are asking that we have at least $30k saved for medicines and expenses.
We are setting up a fundraiser for our family. We need help. Until Chris is stable and able to go back to work, we need help.
Thanks for taking the time to catch up, we will try to keep everyone updated with what is going on.
-Jen
