December 19, 2024

Almost two years since my liver transplant. I'm on the Q train crossing the East River. Over the years I've probably crossed he Manhattan Bridge thousands of times . Today it's to Weill-Cornell hospital on the Upper East Side. Yesterday while taking care of Professor Berthell Ollman I noticed my abdomen swelling and the sensation of pressure. Back at 387 I stepped on the scale. Up two pounds in a day. If I've learned anything over the last years it's if something doesnt feeling good, check on it. Last night and this morning I called the transplant doctor on call. This morning she suggested my heading up to the ER to get blood work. The express train is passing 23rd Street. I'll be there by 8. Coffee and a bagel. Unfortunately I will be missing a day's work. Tant pis. Such is life. Happy Holidays. Later Almost noon. A MRI. A long one, as the nurse checks all my vents for bleeding. The screen shows the blue blood in the veins and the red oxygenated. Almost an hour on the bed, as she presses the scanner to my belly. There is no pain. Good thing I came in early. Even better that I didnt go out to Montauk. Blood work. No eating. No drinking. Waiting for a Cat Scan. Cold back here. A young couple come into the ER. The woman is in pain. The nurse examines her. She has numbness in her side. Lots of nurses in the ER. Not that many patients. It's early in the day. Four minutes short of noon. No telling when I'll get the Cat Scan. Later ER's Cat Scan is an old one, a GE scanner from this century. The tech said he had performed fifteen scans since morning. Fifteen minutes each