My Experience: ‘There were concerns that I might have Alzheimer’s’

When I was diagnosed with the serious liver condition, cirrhosis of the liver, out of the blue at the age of 65, I was completely shocked. Like many people, I associated cirrhosis with heavy drinking but in my case, it was not alcohol-related and there was no family history.

A year or so before my diagnosis, my GP mentioned that I should get my liver checked out after a routine blood test, but I did not do anything about it. I was feeling fine and I wanted to do a transatlantic sail in the following two months.

Over that year, I started to deteriorate. My liver was not doing what it should be doing, spreading nutrients around the body and detoxifying. I had become bulky from retaining fluids and people were advising me to go to the GP.

Confusion
My main difficulty was confusion. I could put on two shirts in the morning and not realise it. I was unaware that I was talking rubbish at times and ringing people in the middle of the night. There were concerns that I might have Alzheimer's and I was sent to Cork University Hospital for tests.

I was admitted for three weeks and eventually diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver by Dr Orla Crosbie, a liver specialist. She explained that the only hope for me was a liver transplant and I agreed to be put on the transplant list. Within a few weeks, an appointment was arranged for me to meet a transplant co-ordinator and medical team at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin to be assessed for transplant.

I was put on the waiting list in October 2012. Various tests and monitoring were carried out regularly in CUH and St Vincent’s right up to June of this year. During April, May and June, my health began to really dip.

My close friends did not think I would be around for Christmas. Looking back at photos now, I was heading that way. I was drawn and thin and looked like I had been sucked dry.

It was 9.50pm on Sunday, June 30th when the call came. I will never forget it. The transplant co-ordinator was on the other end of the phone. Her words to me were: “Mr Brady, we have a new liver for you.” I had been eagerly awaiting this call but I was so shocked, I could not speak for a few seconds. A friend was at my house within half an hour to drive me to Dublin.

There was a further phone call from the hospital advising that they were going to do the transplant as a donor liver was a good match. We headed for Dublin at 10.45pm. My daughter Kelly, who is a nurse, and was my rock of strength through all of this, came too.

We were taken straight to the preparation room when we arrived at the hospital where bloods were taken and an MRI and other tests were carried out. I was given a gown and much paperwork to sign and the anaesthetist came in for a pleasant chat. He told me he would do his best to fulfil my request that I have no pain.

Then I was taken down to theatre and I said goodbye to my beloved Kelly, a difficult moment. I never thought too much of the downside of the transplant surgery, I just believed it was going to work. Now I realise it may not have.

I was in surgery for 10-11 hours and spent the following four days in the ICU. When I woke up, I felt no pain. I didn't feel like I was after a serious operation. I was out of it on morphine for the first four days, but my recovery in general went very well and I was walking the hospital corridors after a few more days. I was really very lucky with the way it all went.

Recovery
I got home 2½ weeks after the surgery, the nurses told me it was one of the quickest recoveries they had seen. Kelly's knowledge and experience as a nurse made everything so easy for me and the nurses and doctors.

I was on a lot of medication when I was discharged, including suppressants to stop my immune system from rejecting the liver. I have put on weight from the steroids I am on but I am being weaned gently off them.

The change in my life has been incredible. Within a week, my mind was much better again and the confusion was gone. I felt slightly weak for a while after such a major operation but I have never had any pain since.

I had no quality of life for about a year before the operation. I couldn’t drive my car and that meant I could not work as an architect. I had no car and no job, my life just collapsed in the space of six months. I had to be watched and minded all the time. I would forget to take my medication and end up even more confused.

For the few months before the operation, my medication was not working and I was going downhill. There was no more treatment they could give me, my only hope was a transplant.

The rule of thumb is that you have to wait three months after the operation before you get the all clear. Once I do, I will be able to drive again and I hope to get back to work as soon as I have wheels under me. I also hope to get back sailing next year.

My wonderful close friends and family kept me positive through the whole experience; they were a huge support.

I am so grateful to my donor’s family who gave me the gift of life. People do die on the list and matching organs do not always turn up. Three months after the operation, the transplant co-ordinator will give me some details about my donor, such as age and sex.

She will help me to write a letter of thanks which they pass onto the donor’s family. I would encourage people to carry an organ donor card and help give others the gift of life.

In conversation with

For information on organ donation in Ireland, go to organdonation.ie