11/23/2025
So my liver crashed out this summer. And I had the lovely experience of being hospitalized for 18 days in August.
Ack! What an experience! The beds were uncomfortably brutal, and if I don't ever have to eat another low-salt hospital meal again, I will rejoice to the end of time! I am now on disability and recuperating from home. Sadly, I've had to put my art aside as I focus on keeping my energy and health stabilized.
15 years after being diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), I finally got to Stage 4 liver cirrhosis this year. What I thought was going to be this gradual decline of my liver then a smooth transition to a liver transplant has been anything but!
It was like my liver got yeeted off of a highrise balcony like one of Putin's out-of-favor oligarchs.
PSC is an autoimmune disease with an unclear origin that attacks the liver's biliary tree. There is a connection to Crohn's disease, which I do have, but the actual mechanism of why is still being researched.
PSC constricts the ducts and prevents bile from properly flowing out of the liver. As the bile pools up and lingers in the ducts and liver, it slowly degrades the liver until it fails. The only cure for PSC is a liver transplant. Fatigue, weight loss, and jaundice have been my primary symptoms.
Since my return home, I've been going through the liver transplant evaluation. I'm now in Phase 2 and working through several procedures that once completed, will get me on an active transplant list.
I've really abbreviated my liver journey in this post. It's been so much more involved than I ever expected. If you'd like to read about this in more detail, I have an account on www.caringbridge.org. You sign up for an account and can find me under Cassandra Musto, Cassandra's CaringBridge. Start at the bottom of the thread to go in chronological order. I update every couple of weeks or sooner if something new inpires me. And when I have energy, I'll update my socials too.
