Been There, Done That

Home from the transplant. Lived. Recovering well. My son gave me 60% of his liver. Went through the same process Catherine Herridge will go, in the same Unit. I was released before she cleared ICU but hey, maybe she will get the bed I opened up by being released. Try to do more posts later, still pretty wasted. Even have the typical devotee angle to my story to tell (hint - one of my surgeons was a Bengali).

Newswoman and son recover after surgery

A 5-month-old boy from Washington, D.C., was recovering Tuesday evening at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Oakland after receiving part of his mother's liver. The case of Peter Hayes has attracted national attention because his mother, Catherine Herridge, is a national correspondent for Fox News Channel.

Herridge's story has been told in recent days by Fox host Greta Van Susteren.

Herridge, 42, donated part of her liver to save her son from a life-threatening illness that blocks the bile duct. The disease, known as biliary atresia, causes bile to build up in the liver and poison it.

Herridge and her son underwent surgery simultaneously yesterday. Both were doing well afterward, according to surgeons at Children's and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Dr. Amadeo Marcos, clinical director of transplantation at UPMC's Starzl Transplantation Institute, said Herridge was in extremely good condition after a five-hour operation in which he removed about 20 percent of her liver. She likely will be discharged by the end of the week, he said.

The new liver will cure Peter, said Dr. George V. Mazariegos, director of pediatric transplantation at Children's.

"We're very encouraged," he said. "Everything is going as well as we could have hoped for."

Herridge's husband, J.D. Hayes, said the couple chose to have Peter's transplant in Pittsburgh because of UPMC's reputation.

"If you have the opportunity to go where there's the most experience and the highest success rate, then you go there," Hayes said. "These guys are very dedicated, very disciplined."

Hayes said the family likely will remain in Pittsburgh for six to 10 weeks. The couple have another son, Jamie, 20 months.

Herridge covers homeland security issues for Fox.