Ramblings of a Transplant-Listee's Wife

After one more test tomorrow, we meet with the Transplant Surgeon this coming Friday. This is "the big one" - the appointment that will determine whether or not Dennis will go on the active waiting list for a liver transplant.

It's been quite an ordeal for my brave husband. He's got to be the most agreeable person I've ever met, 'cuz I know I sure wouldn't have had the patience to go through all of the poking and prodding he's had to endure these past few months. If all goes well, it will pay off in ways I can't even really grasp just yet - another human being we don't even know will give him the greatest gift possible, and life will return to something closer to normal than we've had in a long time.

None of this, by the way, works like it does on television. You don't just get sick, go to the hospital, get (organ of choice) replaced, go home. There are Social Workers and Coordinators and Financial Coordinators...the list of people on "the team" goes on and on, and each of these people plays an integral part in getting your name on that all-important list. Makes sense, I guess. I mean, this is a one shot deal for the donated organ, and it's often the last chance for the recipient.

Something they definitely don't show on t.v. is the hard truth...sometimes, they say 'no'. If you need a liver/kidney/heart/lung/cornea, you don't necessarily just get one. You won't even be considered UNTIL you qualify financially. Not a chance, no way, you'd best have your ducks in a row or it isn't going to happen. This completely blew me away. I understand that this is a very expensive procedure, that the anti-rejection drugs will cost several thousand dollars per month, and that the organ will have been wasted if given to someone who can't afford it's upkeep, to put it bluntly. But, these are lives we're talking about, and I have a hard time thinking of them in terms of monetary value. Guess that's why I'm not a Financial Coordinator, huh?