Throughout the summer of 2005, the transplant team at UPMC Presbyterian hospital kept telling her that she would make "an excellent candidate for a transplant." She was too ill for chemotherapy to ever have been considered, so a transplant was her only chance.
Though she was being told for months that she was "an excellent candidate for a transplant," she was still not on the donor list and hope was fading. There was so much confusion because we thought she was on the list when she was being called in on little notice. She was getting weaker and starting to have pain from the cancer. On November 2, she was told that she was not a good candidate for a transplant and would not be on the list after all because there were too many risks and then something rare came up with her blood. The news was devastating. She wanted to be put on the donor list because she would rather die from complications of a transplant than die from cancer. She was willing to take the chance with a transplant for the simple reason that she wanted a chance to see her grandson grow up.
So on November 2, I was told that she was put on the list only because she and we insisted and for no other reason. A match likely would not be found in time is what I was told. The team did not believe she would tolerate the surgery, and if she did, she likely would not leave the hospital. She should enjoy the little time she had left is what I was told. So imagine the surprise when I received a call from the transplant unit at 2:30 am on November 4 that an organ was available and that I had 2 hours to get her there.
Mom received a healthy liver from a 40 year old man on her only grandchild's 7th birthday. Prior to the transplant, we were told she could be out of her home for up to 1 year. She would need time in Transplant ICU, ICU, a hospital unit and then a rebah or nursing unit/home until she was strong enough to go home. My mom was discharged from the hospital 10 days after her transplant because she recovered as quickly as a 20 year old would. Stubborn old Italian women are like that.
The anestheologist was so visibly shaken by the surgical miracle that he saw. He said the new liver started working immediately and that he never saw that happen. It was as though that new liver was truly meant for her. We were told that all the cancer was removed with the discarded old liver. She needed no chemo, radiation or treatments of any kind and still doesn't except for the anti rejection medications which are part of her daily routine.
I believe I witnessed a miracle. We cannot thank the man enough who decided to be an organ donor and the family out there who allowed their loved one's last wishes to be honored. Mom got her new liver just in the nick of time after being on a waiting list less than 3 days. jt
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