Made it..
18 April 2023
Kia ora..
Last year we wrote about finding out I was diagnosed with liver cancer..
3 weeks before Xmas I got a call that they found a legion on my liver, had scans and confirmed I had cancer.
Well on the 17th of March (approx 3 months of being on the transplant waiting list) I got the call.
Around 11:30pm on the 16th I had a call.. "who's this bugger calling me so late"?! We have a liver for you, are you ready?? YESS!!!!
After the call I sat there for about 5 mins trying to digest the call.. I looked at Shan.. we both had tears then got up and started packing, I woke up the kids (16 boy, 14, girl and 12, boy) and told them.. we all cried and hugged as tight as we could..
The most emotional moment of my life!!
They asked to me to be at Auckland Hospital within 6 hours, we made it there in 3 😁.
I remember lying on the operating table talking to the people around me (while they were inserting lines into my veins and prepping me) then one of the guys asked me what do I do for work.. got about 6 words in then remember feeling warm and felt sunshine on me. Opened my eyes and raised my hands up, saw my ta moko on my hands and realised that not only was I alive.. but I made it through..
Started crying.. I was soo happy that I'm on the other side of my op..
I had 8 tubes coming out of me, out of my stomach, arms, neck, feeding tube up my nose and a breathing tube down my throat. I was in and out of conscious for a bit.
Around lunch time I woke up and saw my Shan.. I've never ever been so happy to see her.. she was holding my hand.. weak, hardly moving but I was alive!! Over the next day or so they started taking the tubes out, the last 3 came out a week later.
My body felt like it had been hit by a bus, bruises all over and non stop pain.
A few days after my op I was moved to a ward, after a week I was discharged to the Liver Transplant recovery unit.. that’s where I've been until last Wednesday. They admitted me again as they detected a small issue, a common and treatable problem. Monday the 17th I had a procedure to correct the issue, all goes well then I'll potentially be discharged home this week.
I'm 31 days (today) post op, it's weird to think 31 days ago I had a life saving operation. I was so sick.. if I hadn't have had this transplant, chances are I wouldn't have made it to my next birthday. But I'm now cancer free..
Shan and my daughter have been supporting me here in Auckland but my boys have been back home in Rotovegas..
Video calls have helped.. but I can't wait to see them, brings tears thinking of them.. ending video calls with them.. sending messages etc.. with all that I've been through, being away from my whanau has been the hardest part!!
My brother and I didn't have a relationship much before finding out I had cancer, but we put our sh!t aside and have formed a strong bond again. Love him heaps..
Life's going to be different for me moving forward, I have a whole new set of challenges..
I'm on pills for life, I can't eat some foods anymore, I've had to remove some people from my life, my career is going to suffer and I have a constant tremor (side effect of my anti rejection pills).. my mind is different and my body doesn't feel the same.. but I've learned a few things..
1. Stay positive, you wake up and you have a shot at life.
2. Take on any challenge that comes your way, nothing's ever easy unless you accept it and run with it.
3. You can't control everything but you can control how you respond to it.
But most importantly I've learned that love is the most powerful emotion and feeling that can get you through, not just for others but for yourself!!
Growing up I was beaten daily by a man who hated me (stepfather), I went to school with bruises often and hated life.
I never knew what love truly was.. but I absolutely do now.
Never ever give up.. everything you want in life is on the other side of fear!!
Thanks again for your support.
Logan