Anecdote:
Yeah. I just got a 3rd opinion on my husband's "Lymphoma". He does not have Lymphoma. It does not hurt to get other opinions. I just visited that hell for a couple weeks. Make damned sure. I went to "specialists" and they seemed pretty unenthused about his condition. I took him to another city through the ER yesterday,(
everyone thought I had just lost it) and guess what, Not Lymphoma, Not Cancer, and after neck surgery he will be fine, it's just a benign mass. I was just about to put a thread up about getting several opinions before you freak out about a severe diagnosis for anything. Because they really had us going there....he was already acting like the person he wanted to be remebered as...when the whole time...people were working under a couple of false diagosis. I think...what if he had committed harry carry as a reaction and it was false the whole time? Not only were they wrong they were dead wrong about something pretty major. Don't be afraid to take your love- to another town. If you get the same prognosis who cares....it's not going to hurt.
The way I dealt with it is....I kept telling my husband...despite the "current facts", that the situation was temporary and not to worry he'll be fine no matter what. According to the "current facts" I was lying...but I did believe my own lie. And I'll be damned if I wasn't right!
I'm sorry to hear the news Sam. I know as much about liver disease as much as I started out knowing about Lymphoma. All I know right now is that everything can change in an instant and don't be afraid to go doctor shopping. Our little world was crumbling....and it turned out that we had been "punked". I even put him through some tests twice at different places because I'm an asshole........I just assumed that these doctors weren't qualified to deal with Lymphoma if he had it, and well guess what? They were incompetent, as I had guessed, on a completely uneducated guess. I assumed this small town wasn't competent enough to deal with a major issue. Because I'm an ass. But as it turns out-in the end- it's true.
Just don't give up hope. That's all I really mean to say. I gave up hope and that's what hurts the most about it. Once you do that you start to lose it, and it starts to effect the sick person. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't give up the fight- but I sure as hell gave up hope quickly in the face of news from supposed professionals. Yeah- a little TMI for ya.
He/She can fight this. And he/she can stay hopeful. Just do the best you can and don't let him give in to the depression.