Karen S.

Primary Biliary Cholangitis

I was diagnosed with PBC in 2003. My symptoms other than fatigue were non existent until 2010. At that time I started having bleeding from esophageal varices, that however was just outpatient and manageable. In April 2015 I slipped into a coma one morning from hepatic encephalopathy. In and out of hospitals for weeks at a time. I was evaluated at the Cleveland Clinic in October 2015 and listed Nov 1. On January 27, 2016 I received a call that a liver match had become available. We drove from Buffalo to Cleveland. I spent one month at the clinic and another month in the area. It is now Dec 15, 2017 and my 56th birthday today. I am blessed and so so so so thankful to my donor and his/her family. My photos attached are from seven days after my transplant and 22 months after transplant.