The Day My Liver Graduated
How My Liver Went From “Absolutely Not” to “We’re Good Here”
Yesterday I sat in a small exam room at Leahy Medical Clinic, waiting for my doctor to walk in and tell me whether my liver was still behaving itself. I’ve had a complicated relationship with this particular organ. A year ago it was inflamed enough to light up my lab results like a Christmas tree. My ALT and AST were over 500. That’s the kind of number that makes a doctor stop mid‑sentence and say “Huh.”
The culprit turned out to be a medication that my body did not appreciate. I stopped taking it, changed how I ate, moved my body more, and lost 40lbs of my weight. The liver is one of the few organs that can regenerate when you stop irritating it. Mine apparently took that as a personal challenge.
So there I was yesterday, joking with the staff about how many vials of blood they planned to take. (Only three. A personal record was 11.) My vitals were calm. My pulse was 55. My blood pressure was 113 over 69. My oxygen was 97. My mood was somewhere between “I hope this goes well” and “I wonder if they still have those stickers for grown‑ups.” They’s don’t.
On Bluesky and Threads, I am sharing related Therapy notes like this gem:
Pairing practical health changes with spiritual faith creates a sturdy foundation for facing medical uncertainty.
When the doctor came in, he smiled. He told me my ultrasound from July still looked great. No scarring. No cirrhosis. No signs of advanced disease. My labs were normal. My liver had, in his words, “fully recovered.” He even gave me a thumbs‑up, which is the medical equivalent of a gold star.
He reminded me of a few things that might help someone else reading this.
• Fatty liver can improve with weight loss, movement, and removing the thing that caused the injury.
• ALT and AST levels under 40 are a good sign of a calm liver.
• Annual labs are enough when things are stable.
• Be careful with supplements and over‑the‑counter medications if you’ve ever had drug‑induced liver injury.
• If you ever see jaundice, dark urine, itching, confusion, or unusual bleeding, call someone who knows what they’re doing. I’ll clarify. Call a doctor.
He also said something that stuck with me. Getting better is one thing. Staying better is the real work. Maintenance is the part no one celebrates because it looks like ordinary life. But ordinary life is where most of the healing actually happens.
So this is me, celebrating ordinary life. My liver graduated. I’m the proud parent of a well‑behaved organ.
I’m sharing in our Facebook community tips for managing Fatty Liver Anxiety. From reinforcing the warning signs, I talk also about celebrating maintenance and giving yourself credit. I encourage questions and comments there specific to the Anxiety impacts of Fatty Liver or health crisis in general.
On Instagram, I am sharing general Fatty Liver awareness details to spread the word to others.
Thanks for reading. And if your own liver is on a journey, I’m cheering for it.
As You Find Me (AYFM) is where Brad Hachez - a visionary neurodivergent creator - explores tech, faith, health, & life. Join the journey to streamline productivity, deepen relationships, & reflect on purpose with resilience, presence, and servant-hearted growth.