We’ve had another pretty good week here in Pittsburgh. So far, Lindsey continues to test negative for CMV and EBV which are common viruses that affect post-transplant patients. She also has come off of several medications and is down to a minimal amount of prednisone; this helps lower the side effects she was experiencing. She has been switched over to once-weekly lab and clinic visits instead of twice weekly, which is a nice relief for us.

Some folks have asked about why we feature so many pictures of Lindsey’s meals in Pittsburgh. That’s because prior to transplant, Lindsey’s metabolic disorder required a restricted diet with no more than 36 grams of protein per day. In practical terms, that meant no meat, fish, poultry, milk, or eggs. So she pretty much ate carbs, fruits, and vegetables alone. 

Now that she has a new liver, she can have almost any food. So she’s been very excited to experience all the protein-rich foods that have been off-limits before. Now, her only restrictions are that meat needs to be cooked well-done, and she can’t have unpasteurized eggs or dairy products, or cheese that have mold in them. Also there are a couple of fruits (blood oranges, starfruit, grapefruit) that bind to the same molecule as her immune suppressant drug, so those are off limits as well.

Our whole family (the 3 of us) is here in Pittsburgh tonight, and I’ll head back to Michigan tomorrow. For tonight, we went to a highly recommended Argentine restaurant in town called Gaucho. It was good, but not as impressive as we’d been led to believe. The pictures below are the mixed grill plate and the pork chop.

Yesterday, Lindsey and I also got to meet up with a friend of our who was strangely only about 30 minutes away. Deborah is the daughter of Pam’s best friend from high school, whose family lives in California. However, Deborah goes to college in Ohio and came home with her roommate to a suburb of Pittsburgh for the weekend (did ya follow all that?). So we got to have a nice dinner, and Lindsey got to spend some time with someone under the age of 40, which was a great bonus for her!

This week we are thrilled to thank our newest donors: Marjory Cohen, Deborah Majeski, and the very generous Claire and Morry Weinbaum (who sent a check to COTA that is not yet reflected in our fundraising total). With these latest donations, we have also reached the milestone required for a match from the COTA Challenge Grant, which means an extra $2500! Thank you to everyone who has been watching our story and supporting COTA for Team Lindsey. Also thank you to Renee Lower for the beautiful orchids that brighten up our apartment in Pittsburgh!