January 30, 2024
Three months ago today on October 29 around 8 o’clock in the evening I was wheeled from my hospital room out into a hallway. I don’t think I was ever more scared in my life. I said a little prayer as they wheeled me into the operating room for a 10 hour surgery. I wouldn’t wake up for another week. I barely remember those first days but as I think back, I have come so far since then. All thanks to God for seeing me through this journey and for watching over everybody that was part of the surgery and the aftercare to go from where I was to where I am now is truly a miracle.
The new liver is still functioning very well. The daily regime of taking 16 different medicines is becoming more routine. I still have a ways to go to regain my strength and stamina. But we are making progress. For the most part, I am feeling pretty good, but there are days where I struggle to function properly. People that haven’t seen me since the surgery continued to comment that I look so much better. I really didn’t think I looked that bad before the surgery but what did I know.
Just another shout out to my family. You are my inspiration for trying to get back to normal, and to be able to do all the things we did before this disease took its toll. I love you all more than you will ever know..
Thanks again to our Lord and savior for giving me this awesome gift of life. Please continue your prayers as we progress and remember to treat everyone as you would want to be treated.
Love to all Rich!!!
December 29, 2023
Hey everyone, this is Rich. Here is the latest. My doctors say that my new liver is functioning very very well. As we expected we are fine-tuning some of the medication‘s to get all the levels within the normal range.
I am feeling better than I have felt in years and am so thankful to no longer be taking the medication’s I was taking before my Transplant surgery. It is so good to know that I have a chance at a bright future. This past holiday season was super special.. Christmas Eve we spent the day together as a family going to church watching the Packers, eating Chinese, and of course opening presents. It was so rewarding to see my whole family, my kids, my grandkids, and of course, Lynette, smiling and laughing and knowing that we will have many more Christmases together.
This whole experience has been very humbling. Let me start by giving all praise and thanks to God for granting me this awesome gift of life. It didn’t happen quite as a fast as I had hoped, but rest assured God had a plan, and in the end I ended up with a very healthy liver. Next I need to thank all my family, friends and people I’ve never even met who prayed for me and continue to pray for me. If you don’t think God is listening, you better think again..
A special shout out to my kids and their spouses for all the time that they spent visiting me and supporting me and Lynette. I am so sorry you had to go through all this but in the end I hope it makes us even closer as a family. I love you all more than you will ever know.
Lastly, I would not be here if it were not for Lynette. She has been my rock through this whole journey that we unfortunately had to go through. To say that we’ve been to hell and back is an understatement. Lynette I love you more than you will ever know and God willing we will have a more normal life going forward.
They say God doesn’t give us more than we can handle well let me tell you he pushed me to the limit this time. I sometimes find myself asking why did this happen? I think we are all to learn something from this.
Everything that happens is according to God‘s will. Be kind to one another treat each other as you would want to be treated. Don’t be afraid to say I love you or to give someone a hug. You never know if you will get another chance. Sorry this got a little long, but I had eight weeks to think about what I was going to say. Again,, thanks to everybody for all your support and kindness.
Love Rich
November 28, 2023
Rich spent a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with his family this year. Today we returned to Madison for our first follow up post surgery visit. Rich had all of the 40 staples removed from his abdomen and the incision looks great. His liver continues to function optimally. There is still a long road ahead and at least six months before he will gain back a good portion of his strength. patience is the key.
November 21, 2023
So happy to post today that Rich is home. We are grateful that he will be with us for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. There is still a long road ahead of us, but being home is probably the best medicine.
November 16, 2023
Rich has moved onto the next phase of his transplant journey. He was released from the hospital today and admitted into a great rehab program in Madison. In rehab, Rich can continue to regain his strength with many therapy sessions. Occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy will all be involved. He will be followed closely by an excellent team of doctors and nurses. We are hoping that he continues to get stronger every day and will be home soon.
November 13, 2023
Just a quick little update. Rich is getting stronger every day gaining back his strength. We are thankful for all the continued prayers and support. There is talk that he may even be able to go home sometime next week.
November 9, 2023
Rich is now settling into his new room. He’s been making great strides. Today he walked down the hallway with some help. He is enjoying eating real food. His liver continues to function very well. All the hospital staff are very encouraged by his progress. Rich is still struggling with some gunk in his lungs, but he’s able to cough that up on his own. We are hoping that he will soon be either moved to a rehab facility or possibly even Home .
I would just like make a quick mention of the fact that Rich had many transfusions and numerous blood products throughout his surgery and afterwards. We want to encourage everyone to please donate blood and blood products if they are able. This is a way to help pay back what was given so generously to us . We can all make a difference and maybe help save someone else’s life .
November 6, 2023
Late on Sunday night the team decided it was safe to try to extubate Rich. His tube was removed and he was so happy. We were able to talk with him. His throat is still very sore so he may not be making phone calls to friends and family anytime soon. Today we will be progressing quite a bit. Starting to transition to a liquid diet. Rich is loving his Popsicles! Planning to get up out of the bed and start moving. We are hoping to get out of the ICU either today or tomorrow and move to what will become his permanent room for quite some time.
November 4, 2023
Rich had some bleeding last night from his lungs and therefore they will not be removing his breathing tube as of yet. They are going to try to increase his platelets so that he will be able to clot better. This is a setback but we have know that the staff at UW Madison is top-notch and are doing the best . Rich’s new liver seems to be functioning very well. His kidneys are also doing better.
November 2, 2023
A small setback today due to a decrease in riches oxygen levels overnight . The team decided to keep in his breathing tube for at least another day or two. They were able to remove the block on his right lung and are confident there is no active bleeding at this time. His new liver continues to be amazing and working very well. We are looking forward to being able to communicate with Rich in an easier way once the breathing tube is removed and will wait patiently until the doctors think that is the best course.
November 1, 2023
Today we have made great progress. They have stopped the paralytic drug and reduce sedation. Rich is able to respond to us by nodding his head and squeezing our hands. Rich opens his eyes when we talk to him. He knows he has a new liver. We are hoping they will be able to remove his breathing tube soon.
October 31, 2023
Rich is continuing to improve. His liver is functioning even better today. .They were able to remove some of the clots that were present in his lung so that is positive also. He is still sedated but they will be taking him off the paralytics and hoping he will be able to cough up any remaining clots. We were told several times how much better Rich is doing today
October 30, 2023
Rich is out of surgery and stable at this time. His transplant surgery took about 10 hours. The Surgeon said the Liver looks great and seems to be functioning properly. We are so greatful for such a healthy organ donation. There was a bit of a complication during the surgical procedure. Rich had some bleeding in his Right Lung. For now he is only oxygenating through his Left Lung. The plan will be for the Pulmonary team to go into the lung and remove the clots that have formed. This may not happen until tomorrow because they want him to recover a bit first from such a major surgery. We will continue to post updates. Your prayers have gotten him to this point please keep them coming.
October 30, 2023
Rich received a liver organ offer from UW Madison today. We arrived in Madison at 3pm. Knowing Rich, you can imagine he was a little concerned about missing the Packer game but hopeful this would be the answer to our prayers. After several hours of waiting we were given the awesome news that the transplant surgery would be happening. Rich was wheeled into the operating room tonight at 8pm. The surgery could take up to 12 hours. I will post an update tomorrow. Please keep Rich in your prayers tonight.
October 26, 2023
We have been working with UW Health over the last 2 months to increase Richs MELD score with an exception. The MELD is the score a liver transplant recipient is given based on their liver function blood tests. There are times when this score is not an accurate picture of how sick some one is. That was the case for Rich.
This particular exception required Rich to have fluid withdrawn from around his lungs 4 weeks in a row along with corresponding labs. Each week at least 1 litter of fluid had to be extracted. This would allow Madison to apply for the MELD exception.
We found out today that this exception was granted by UNOS(the organization in charge of placing all donor organs).
What this all means basicly is that he will be listed higher on the list for a transplant. Hopefully this will increase his chance of an organ donor offer soon. This exception is good for 3 months and then we will need to start the process over again. We are so greatful to UW Madison for all their efforts.
September 19, 2023
In Madison things were delayed on Monday with the OR times being pushed back to 8pm. There were many perameters that needed to occur with this particular donor for the liver to be donated. Unfortunatly, by 9:45pm we were informed that the transplant would not be occuring. Heading back home this afternoon. Hoping for another offer soon.
September 17, 2023
At 10:30 pm on Saturday night we received a call from UW Madison hospital and asked to be a backup recipient for a possible donor liver. We were told to have our bags packed and be ready to leave if the primary recipient would be unable to have the transplant surgery. We got very little sleep that night waiting for the phone call.
Finally at 8:30 am Sunday morning we received the return call. We were told the primary would be accepting the donor liver but there was a second offer made to us. This time Rich would be the Primary recipient. We will be heading back to Madison Sunday afternoon with the hope this will be a suitable organ for transplant.
The earliest we will know if a surgery will be occuring is Monday. Please check back for further updates. We know that God has a plan and hope this will result in a positive outcome for Rich.
September 14, 2023
After several trips to Madison over the past 2 months Rich had his final required procedure for the transplant evaluation there. Fortunately the results determined his heart is healthy enough to undergo transplant surgery when the time comes.
Thursday morning before our trip back home we were given the good news that Rich has been approved for listing with UW Madison. While the many trips to Madison were hard on Rich both Physically and sometimes mentally, we are beyond greatful that these efforts paid off with a positive outcome. Our hope is that being duel listed with both Froedtert and Madison will increase Rich's chance for an organ offer.
Please continue your prayers for a suitable liver becoming available soon.
August 15, 2023
On Monday we will spend the day at UW Madison Hospital undergoing a day long evaluation to hopefully be included in their Transplant Program. While we know the logistics may pose a challenge we are hopefull that by being duel listed Rich will have even more opportunity for a liver transplant. Becoming accepted into a program may take several months before a determination will be made. Madison Health has informed us they they would be able to share medical information with Froedtert Milwaukee and vise versa. This may help Rich to be accepted sooner and also decrease duplicating many of the tests and procedured that are necessary to remain in these transplant programs.
Currently Rich is feeling a bit better. We have been able to adjust his medications to help decrease some of his worst symptoms. He is also having a procedure called thoracentesis every few weeks to drain accu mulationg fluid surrounding his lungs. This has really made a difference in breathing. Please check back for future updates.
July 26, 2023
Last night we received a call from the transplant team at Froedtert that Rich was the back up recipient for a doner liver. While we slept little over night waiting for word we were hopefull. This afternoon we were informed that the primary recipient did receive the transplant. While disappointed we are happy to hear another individual will have a chance to improve their quality of life. We are continuing to remain hopefull that Rich will receive a transplant in the near future.
July 22, 2023
On Sunday July 23rd Jackson Area Youth Baseball Association is hosting their end of season party at the Jackson Town Hall from noon to 3pm. They have graciously offered to donate proceeds from their concessions our cause. Please come out and support if you can.
July 7, 2023
In early July Rich was contacted and told there was an organ available. Despite his friends and families prayer this organ was denied by the transplant surgeon as not being healthy enough for transplant. We are hopefull to be contacted again by the donor list in the near future
