Darice de Cuba

Today it became public that Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant two months ago. Which comes as a surprise considering Job had pancreatic cancer. But if you have been in the medical circuit you know how heavy treatment like chemo can ruin your liver and kidneys, so it’s highly likely that because of the cancer treatment and medication he had to take daily that his liver gave up.

Apple expert John Gruber of Daring Fireball questions if the transplant really took place just two months ago.

Recovery from a liver transplant is relatively fast, said William Chapman, a specialist at Washington University who has no direct knowledge of Mr. Jobs’s case.

But six weeks doesn’t sound “relatively” fast, to me. It sounds crazy fast.

As someone who had a kidney transplant last March I can say it is pretty likely that Jobs could have been walking around in public after six weeks. For starters recuperation time is an average, every patient is unique one will be up and walking within 5 days others will take 2 weeks. Plus recovery doesn’t mean lying in bed or sitting in a chair. It’s just the time your body takes to start functioning normally again. I stayed almost three weeks in the hospital, only two days before leaving I could walk in the hospital corridors without support.

Once home I started recovering faster, within two weeks I was already walking to the supermarket, taking the tram and train alone to the hospital for my weekly check-up. I cooked everyday for myself. I’m not saying I could walk fast and so, but I was able to move around and be independent.

Now in Steve Jobs case where he doesn’t has to put energy in taking public transport, doing grocery shopping or cooking I’m guessing he has enough energy left to walk around campus at WWDC.