Suzanne Malone, age 50, of Paragould, Arkansas; was born in Riverside County, California in 1964. She grew up in Paragould, Arkansas until she set off for college at Memphis University in 1993, then graduating in 1998. She settled down with her, now deceased husband, Troy Malone; where they got married and had a baby five years later in 2000. Throughout the years everything was fine, but five years after her husband died in 2005 she was diagnosed with several diseases. Her diagnoses include some from cirrhosis of the liver, splenomegaly, edema, anemia, hepatic encephalopathy, to iron-deficiency anemia.
She was diagnosed in 2010 after a series of events unfolded forwarding her towards these diagnoses. After her husband, Troy, died and she was widowed, she lost everything. She moved to Memphis to be with family, but things went for the worse and started drinking. She was in and out jobs trying to keep one, but never seemed to stay tied down to one job. The alcohol started to hurt her body to the breaking point to where it would kill her to continue. This caused the cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis of the liver is a slowly progressing disease in which healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue, eventually preventing the liver from functioning properly. The scar tissue blocks the flow of blood through the liver and slows the processing of nutrients, hormones, drugs, natural produced toxins, and also slows the production of proteins and any other substances made by the liver.
She suffers from splenomegaly, which is enlargement of the spleen. In a normal sized spleen doctors cannot physically feel it, but if you suffer from splenomegaly you can feel it and even see it if the case is severe enough. Symptoms include none in some cases, pain or fullness in the left upper abdomen that may spread to the left shoulder, feeling full without eating or after eating only a small amount (this can occur when an enlarged spleen presses on your stomach, fatigue, frequent infections, easy bleeding, and even anemia. The splenomegaly has caused the anemia inside her system, which is a condition that develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin causing your immune system to fail; making it nearly impossible to ward off diseases. “Little things can make a dramatic change in my health.” Malone said in a statement about her condition. “That’s why I’m getting the flu shot later this week, because the doctors said it’s mandatory otherwise I may not make through something as simple as the flu.”
She visits Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee often for check ups, blood transfusions, medication pickups, ultrasounds, and for any surgery if the need applies. She doesn’t have to go any the month of December, but has to go back for a check up in January the thirteenth. “I have to go every two-to-four weeks if I'm doing alright, and they always do blood work. They check the size of my liver and spleen to see if they have gotten better or worse. Check for confusion, swelling, makes sure I'm taking all my meds, and add any as needed. Every 6 months I have to have a scan and a biopsy of my liver to see if I have improved,” Malone said in a statement.
The doctors are unknowing of what the outcome of her situation will be, but they are doing everything they can to put her back to full health. They have prescribed a number of medicines to her, and suggested OTC’s such as: Spironolactone, Lasix, Folic acid, Cipro, Colace, Ferrous Sulfate, Gabapentin, Lactulose, Vitamin D supplements, Multivitamins, MiraLAX, and a few more. They take her off medicines, or put her on them, to see whether it helps her situation or not. If they believe that they are helping her they will keep her on them until the doctors say she can be taken off of them.