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Karla’s Story

BEFORE…

In April of 2021, when she was 35 weeks pregnant with Theo, Karla started to have unbearably itchy hands and feet. At first she attributed it to one of those weird symptoms of pregnancy, but after consulting her doctor and undergoing some testing, it was found that bile was not flowing properly from her liver and that Theo was in danger in the womb. Within two weeks, he was induced and he made a safe and early entrance into the world. It was thought that upon delivery, Karla’s symptoms would subside, but instead, they worsened. She found herself in the ER with baby Theo only 6 days old. And so began a now 15 month journey of searching for answers…

In the postpartum period Karla’s liver enzymes and bilirubin skyrocketed. She was connected with an amazing specialist and medical team, but was told there were far more questions than answers. Countless blood work draws, 4 MRI/MRCP, upper scope, colonoscopy and PET scan… Her initial symptoms were serious and debilitating for about 6 weeks and then slowly and somewhat mysteriously dissipated. Over the course of the next year, the fatigue, itching, nausea, vomiting and jaundice came and went. There were periods of stability, but there was no way to know how long each one would last and getting used to living with complete uncertainty became the new challenge. Then in late April, right as a PET scan was completed, the course of action was simply to, “Wait to get better or wait to get worse”. After all the testing that could possibly be done was done, Karla’s body abruptly started steering right in the direction of “worse”.

She felt unwell for weeks and eventually went to the ER on June 26th. The specialist decided to start a course of steroids, and they initially seemed to help improve liver enzyme blood work and reduce the debilitating symptoms. But as the steroid dose dropped, the symptoms flared up again. Another trip to the ER on July 17th and the dose was increased yet again, but this time there was no improvement. The next week at home, Karla was unable to work beyond her laptop, be “mom”, or even leave her bedroom. On July 22nd, blood work revealed what she already knew to be true. Liver enzymes and bilirubin were at a record breaking high, even higher than the months after Theo’s birth in 2021. Another trip to the ER landed her admitted to the hospital for the following 5 days. Yet another MRCP revealed an severe narrowing of the common bile duct (called a “stricture”). An emergency ERCP was performed, which is a procedure where tubes are placed in one’s throat and doctors can gain direct access to the liver through the stomach. Biopsies were taken, but they were ultimately unreadable. And a plastic stent was inserted into Karla’s bile duct to stabilize her. Recovery was gradual and somewhat incomplete, as we waited for the other shoe to drop.

RIGHT NOW…

And here, I will switch to the first person tense. On August 25th, I was admitted again. Another emergency ERCP showed that the stent had migrated, the stricture has worsened, and my bilirubin is over double what it was before. Extra care was taken with the biopsies this time, and within a few days we will hopefully have some answers as to whether or not this is cancer. Unfortunately, whether it is or it isn’t, my doctor has informed me that I will need to have a life altering/saving/changing surgery. This week. I may be sent to Vancouver to do this, which will mean more time away from my family. And whether recovery is smooth or bumpy, it will most likely be a few weeks before I can return to life that looks like “normal” in all the important ways.

I cannot even begin to process the emotions brought on by my dilemma. When I close my eyes, I simply see my husband, my nearly 6 year old daughter and my 1 year old son. And so I am asking for help and support to do the following. 1) To enable my husband to take a couple weeks off work without immediate financial concerns (until we know more, when we would look at more long term solutions) 2) To organize outside help, including cleaning/delivery/counselling/personal care services etc 3) To pay for a family photo shoot for my family to cherish (the highest item on my “bucket list”) 4) To plan in various ways for the best and worst case scenarios and the challenges that will inevitably come no matter what… Most importantly, I need help to make it so that my kids have access to at least one parent (their dad) as much as possible, as they have already been through so much over the past 15 months. And there are still some very bumpy days ahead…And some days, I will have to admit to myself that I also very much need my husband by my side, too. And recovery may be a humbling journey...

If you can help, thank you. If you can share, thank you. If you can live in the present moment, find some joy in your own life, and remember what a privilege it is to be here, thank you. And please squeeze your babies. I will stay hopeful that I will have many days and nights left to spend with all of you, and until then, I will be here— being as STRONG as I possibly can. Because I still have a lot to do here, and I intend to stay.

If you prefer to help privately, please send me a message on fb to Karla Peregrino.