Michelle's Search for a Liver

18/02/2024

Thank you so much for all of the support! My Transplant team says I am doing extremely well, and hopefully will be walking tomorrow, and out of the ICU by Monday. A huge thank you to my son, Dalon Beddingfield for keeping me company and for everything else he does for me. Ramiro Moreno has been taking care of me at home since shortly after we met, and I couldn’t have asked for a better man to come into my life. 

I’m definitely in a lot of pain, and the fatigue from an organ transplant is no joke. I will post a more detailed update later today. 💚

16/02/2024

Got the call for a liver this morning at about 3 AM. Heading into work to try and wrap up any loose ends and then back home to finish packing. It’s not a for sure thing yet, I won’t find out for a few hours but potentially I’ll be going to the hospital sometime afternoon today. please keep me and the donor and their family in your thoughts. 💚

06/02/2024

So another little blog post for tonight - not about my health, well, maybe my mental health 🤣 I have always been a “sensitive” person. I take things very personally, and it may surprise many people that know me to hear that I care a lot about what people think about me. I’ve often been told that I’m intimidating, that I look like I’m mad all the time, and that I’m not approachable. But the people that know me well know none of that is true. What I am, is emotional lol. I get fired up quickly, and defensive of myself, and people I care about. So much so that I know I sometimes annoy my friends and family with my venting. Luckily they all love me and just let me go 😂. I do have a very strong personality, and I tend to say what I’m thinking, when sometimes I should just keep those thoughts to myself. So tonight’s words of wisdom - well I guess they’re pretty similar to my last post. Be nice. Don’t judge. Do the best you can, and even when the best you can do isn’t good enough, it’s ok.
P.S., this intimidating, cranky, unapproachable chic with resting b$&tch face still needs a liver, so keep sharing! 😂🤷‍♀️💚

05/02/2024

I don’t know if wind therapy is good for the liver but it’s definitely good for the soul. ❤️

19/01/2024

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. A few weeks ago I got a call from UofM - I was second in line for a liver. After a long stressful day, I finally got word that the liver was going to someone else. I had so many emotions! Disappointment, sadness, fear, and even relief. Because as scary as it is waiting for a transplant, the actual transplant surgery is just as scary. But I’m getting worse. I’m in constant pain, often nauseous, I rarely sleep more than a few hours each night. My skin feels like it’s on fire all day, every day. I’m fatigued from not sleeping, but also because I’m constantly anemic due to low iron. On a good day I can go to work, come home and make dinner, and spend time with my boyfriend and my dog without having a breakdown about how awful I feel. On a bad day, I have to work remotely because I’m so miserable. I completely breakdown because I feel like I can’t function and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel normal again. My wonderful boyfriend is so supportive and understanding, without him I would completely lose my sh*t. 😂🤦‍♀️ I say all this not because I want anyone to feel bad for me. I say it because for the most part, if you looked at me on my worst day, unless you know me well you probably would never know how bad I really feel. We never know what people deal with in their daily lives, what causes them to have a moment of impatience or rudeness, or why they seem so scattered, distracted or uncaring. I try to catch myself when I’m not being my best, but I know I fail at that often. I also say this to remind myself to be kind, and remember what you see on the outside doesn’t always reflect what’s really going on with someone. 💚

08/12/2023

Getting a much needed treatment today! 💚

07/11/2023

Hi everyone! Thank you for sharing my posts! Here’s a graphic that may be easier to share. 💚

30/10/2023

Help me find a liver!
I’m searching for a Live Liver Donor with a blood type of O+. I have a rare disease, called Primary Biliary Cholangitis. PBC is an incurable disease that destroys the bile ducts to the liver, causing permanent damage over time. I am a non responder to the medications available that can slow the progression of the disease. I’m currently on the liver transplant waiting list, however livers are in high demand and it could be years before I receive one. By that time I could be very sick, and may not be a good transplant candidate anymore. My best chance at donation is a living donor.
A donor must have the same blood type as me, be of similar body mass, and be substance free. (Any donor would have to abstain from alcohol, to***co, and drugs prior to transplant). The University of Michigan hospital pays all expenses for the donor, and there are programs that will also assist with meals, travel and lodging.
If you’re interested in being a donor, please read about the process at this website, and message me for more information on how to start the process.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation at Michigan Medicine | University of Michigan The human body has only one liver. But that remarkable liver — the body’s largest solid organ — is the only organ capable of regenerating itself. Learn more about what the liver does in our Health Blog post, "What...