I'm glad to hear you're doing better, 3whiterag.
I have been your same boat before. I was off from work for nearly 5 years and finally had a liver transplant, in 1990. I went back to work and worked the next 16 years, before I started to have some problems again. I worked at GM/Delphi and just took the early retirement offer. (Delphi wanted to get rid of all the old timers, and with my new liver issues, flowing back to GM was not an option for me.) Now, I'm trying to get by on less than half of what I was making when I was working. :(
Good lucK and continued good health to you, my friend!