It is so scary when you hear about someone whose ordinary aches and pains turn it to be something far worse. If a headache is actually a brain tumor, or a mass in the breast is cancerous not a harmless cyst. it's just plain frightening. So imagine how a young mom named Kahley Schiller felt when she learned that her intense fatigue was really organ failure!
Videos by Wide Open Country
Even worse, she was given only three months to live when the cause of her medical problems was discovered.
Kahley Schiller's Symptoms Were Not Alarming At First
Doctors Thought Her Hectic Lifestyle Was To Blame
Schiller felt wiped out in body and mind, per the DailyMail.com. Given the fact that she was always on the go with two young kids and a business to run, it's easy to see how her lethargy could be blamed on her packed schedule.
But Schiller had other serious issues too. She was often out of breath and nauseated. The final straw came when she developed jaundice and needed immediate hospitalization. At that point, Schiller was diagnosed with aotoimmune hepatitis, which was severely impacting her liver's ability to function properly. The condition is fairly rare, according to the outlet, affecting "one in 25,000 Americans."
Schiller Required A Liver Transplant
Without It, She Had Just Three Months Left
Schiller recently reflected on her terrible ordeal, which happened five years ago. "I felt very numb. I was just hanging on to survive."
Back then, Schiller felt physically wretched as her illness got steadily worse. She lost her desire to eat, "her throat burned and 'just felt so full.'" She also experienced weight gain from taking steroids to treat her condition and from fluid buildup. All in all, Schiller's quality of life was going downhill fast. Not shockingly, she became very weak as well.
She even began the grim task of getting her affairs in order in case a hoped-for transplant never came.
Finally A Liver Was Available
In October 2019, Kahley Schiller Got That Good News
Kahley Schiller's troubles were not over when she had surgery to get the new liver. During the delicate procedure, she developed a blood clot that ended up in her brain, causing "four minor strokes."
She was sedated and did not awaken until more than a day after the operation began.
Schiller said, "It was really overwhelming. Once I woke up, on top of being in the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life, now being bombarded with all this information, it was a lot of emotions just coming out. I was still hopeful, but it was a lot to process."
Her Body Slowly Began Going Back To Normal
Schiller Marveled At Her Body's Rejuvenation
She observed, "When your body starts to deteriorate so quickly, it's like a plant that starts to die. But then you decide to give it one more shot and start to water it and give it love and whatever it needs. That's what your body does; it comes back to life and blooms again after you receive a new organ."
Fortunately, Schiller is now doing very well and understandably has a newfound appreciation of life.
