John

Here's my story. I have trouble remembering details like platelet counts and
such. I haven't read any other stories where liver failure was a factor. I
guess you can call my situation very unique.

On Monday, August 28 of 2000 I first called in sick to work. My symptoms
included fatigue and nausea. Unfortunately, my symptoms did not abate that
week and after a doctor's visit on Tuesday and subsequent blood tests, I was
diagnosed with the liver disease hepatitis.

My doctor prescribed rest and hoped my immune system would fight off the
hepatitis virus. However, my condition deteriorated. I was referred to a
specialist, a gastrologist on or about Sept 11th, 2000. That doctor also
diagnosed my condition as a form of hepatitis and set up regular blood tests
to monitor my illness. Again, my condition deteriorated further and I was
admitted to the UCLA Medical Center with acute liver failure on September
29th, 2000.

After numerous blood and diagnostic tests I was identified as a candidate
for a liver transplant. At one point I was 12 hours away from being
declared the number one candidate for a new liver should one become
available somewhere in the Western United States. Thankfully, on my 7th day
in the hospital my condition improved. The liver is one of the few organs in
your body, which can regenerate itself. I was able to leave the hospital on
October 10th, 2000. The cause of my liver failure remains unknown. The
doctors suspect some form of virus or toxin had invaded my body.

During a follow up visit with the liver specialist the following week, after
my hospital discharge, a blood test revealed that my blood had become
dangerously anemic. The severity of this condition required that I be
readmitted to UCLA Medical Center. I was eventually diagnosed with aplastic
anemia. The doctors were also unable to pinpoint the exact cause except to
say it was some form of virus or toxin. Likely caused by the same element
that caused my liver failure.

They also discovered that I had a inactive tuberculosis virus in my lungs
which needed to be treated. The treatment is straight forward but the drugs
have dangerous side effects on the liver and needed to be monitored very
closely.

Diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia my only viable treatment option was a
bone marrow transplant. Fortunately, during the search for a donor my
younger sister was found to be a perfect match. To receive the transplant I
first had to undergo chemotherapy for 5 days leading up to the actual
transplant. The transplant was successful, however I did experience severe
side effects and allergic reactions to the chemotherapy drugs. I was again
discharged from the hospital about 4 weeks after the transplant on December
23rd, 2000.

Since that time I have steadily been recovering at home. My physical
condition has improved measurably weekly and I expect to fully recover
sometime in the future. On my discharge from the hospital my physical
condition was very poor. At that time I had loss approximately 55 pounds of
body weight and I was thin to begin with. I was also experiencing muscle
pain, nausea, extreme fatigue and digestive problems.

For the past 9 months I've slowly been rebuilding myself back up. I haven't
return to work yet. My work requires lots of contact with different people
and places all day long. I'm a telephone technician. My doctor doesn't want
to take any chances of having me catch a cold or the flu.

I'm hopeful that by the end of November, the one year anniversary of my
transplant, I'll be able to discontinue taking cyclosporin, prednisone and
the other medications I'm currently on. Once off these drugs I'll be able to
return to work. I'm confident I'll be able to leave this whole episode of my
life behind.

John Usselmann