Wish I could say we've made more progress. One week ago, Dennis suffered a mild heart attack and was eventually transferred to the Cardiac ICU for closer observation. After several days in the ICU and some adjustments to his medications, he's now back out on the regular floor and doing well without any further complications.
What this means, unfortunately, is that he is no longer a transplant candidate - at least not for the time being. Cardiology has scheduled an Angiogram - one of those diagnostic tests that will give them an idea of how much (if any) damage was done to his heart. If the damage is slight as expected, the abscess surgery will go on as planned, he'll recover from the infection and we'll get back into the transplant system. The test will take place on Tuesday and I will do my best to update here as soon as we learn the outcome.
The crusade, of course, continues. I've heard back from Mayor Kevin Johnson's Chief of Staff, who assures me that Mayor Johnson will see my e-mail and help if possible. I've started a group on Facebook.com, Save The UC Davis Liver Transplant Program. With the help of friends & family, we're 28 members strong and growing - if you're on Facebook, I hope you'll join us.
Meanwhile, I have a new name for you: Ann Madden Rice. Ms. Rice (she's not hyphenated) is the CEO of the UCD Med Center. According to their website, she's a "nationally recognized expert in the management of health-care institutions". That would explain her salary of $584,300 annually, I suppose. I'll be sure to ask her about that when I write to her! I'll also ask how it is that a $45 million dollar profit last year translates to closing life-saving programs today, and what she did to deserve a $79,000 bonus last year when UCDMC must be broke, right? Feel free to join me in asking Ms. Rice what the hell they were thinking at that board meeting. Same address on Stockton Blvd., sadly, no direct e-mail address.
Showing posts with label Transplant Update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transplant Update. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
Calling All Activists...and everyone else, too!
On Friday, December 12th, we received a call from the UC Davis Transplant Clinic. After eighteen years, the Liver Tranplant program is being shut down. The reason depends on who you talk to. One person told me it was funding - the economy. In the Sacramento Bee, the excuse was the drop in transplants over the past year, which has an effect on Medi-Care funding and the surgeon's ability to maintain their skills.
Whatever the reason, dozens of patients are being left out in the cold. Each facility has their own set of standards that must be met by the patients before they will be listed for transplant. Regardless of what stage in the process, all of UCD's patients are being told they need to transfer to one of the three remaining centers in Northern California: UCSF, California Pacific Medical Center (San Francisco) and Stanford (Palo Alto). The closest of the three is 76 miles from Sacramento.
Dennis was due to be listed following his next appointment, on December 21st. Another gentleman, interviewed for KXTV 10 News last Friday, would have been listed the same day. It is very likely that they will have to complete the same scans and tests again before being this close to receiving their livers again, if they can survive that long.
Now, here's where the activism comes in. I would like to ask each and every one of you to help me. I want to let the Director of the UC Davis Liver Transplant Program know that these aren't dollars they're cutting, they're lives. These are men and women (and children) who have lived up to their end of the bargain. They've been poked and prodded and tested and scanned, over and over again, even when they were too sick to get out of bed. And for what? Because the easy money made doing boob jobs and face lifts is more important than people's lives?
Sorry, I know I'm ranting and raving, but I get a little bit emotional about this.
So, how about it? If you can write a letter, fantastic. An e-mail? Perfect. The more people who question this closure, the better.
Here's the info:
Whatever the reason, dozens of patients are being left out in the cold. Each facility has their own set of standards that must be met by the patients before they will be listed for transplant. Regardless of what stage in the process, all of UCD's patients are being told they need to transfer to one of the three remaining centers in Northern California: UCSF, California Pacific Medical Center (San Francisco) and Stanford (Palo Alto). The closest of the three is 76 miles from Sacramento.
Dennis was due to be listed following his next appointment, on December 21st. Another gentleman, interviewed for KXTV 10 News last Friday, would have been listed the same day. It is very likely that they will have to complete the same scans and tests again before being this close to receiving their livers again, if they can survive that long.
Now, here's where the activism comes in. I would like to ask each and every one of you to help me. I want to let the Director of the UC Davis Liver Transplant Program know that these aren't dollars they're cutting, they're lives. These are men and women (and children) who have lived up to their end of the bargain. They've been poked and prodded and tested and scanned, over and over again, even when they were too sick to get out of bed. And for what? Because the easy money made doing boob jobs and face lifts is more important than people's lives?
Sorry, I know I'm ranting and raving, but I get a little bit emotional about this.
So, how about it? If you can write a letter, fantastic. An e-mail? Perfect. The more people who question this closure, the better.
Here's the info:
UC Davis Transplant Center
Attn: Dr. John McVicar, Liver Transplant Program Director
2315 Stockton Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95817
e-mail: transplant@ucdavis.edu
Even if you don't know Dennis, there are at least a dozen or more people waiting for listing that may be helped by your efforts.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Family Matters
For those of you who have been waiting for updates on Dennis's transplant progress, I have news, finally.
Our slow, forward crawl and giant steps backward have been replaced by improvement and progress. The two drains were removed a week ago and the antibiotics discontinued earlier this week. With the completion of the oral surgery, also this week, Dennis has met all of the requirements for listing by the transplant team.
Considering what a skinny guy he is these days, Dennis looks great. He has more energy than he's had in months and feels better, for the most part, overall. He's ready and anxious to get the transplant over and done with so we can get on with our lives. Our next appointment with the surgeons, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 22nd (could be sooner if cancellations come up), should be the "listing appointment". After that, it's a matter of time and patience (again???), waiting for the call. I don't think it will be a long wait.
Our slow, forward crawl and giant steps backward have been replaced by improvement and progress. The two drains were removed a week ago and the antibiotics discontinued earlier this week. With the completion of the oral surgery, also this week, Dennis has met all of the requirements for listing by the transplant team.
Considering what a skinny guy he is these days, Dennis looks great. He has more energy than he's had in months and feels better, for the most part, overall. He's ready and anxious to get the transplant over and done with so we can get on with our lives. Our next appointment with the surgeons, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 22nd (could be sooner if cancellations come up), should be the "listing appointment". After that, it's a matter of time and patience (again???), waiting for the call. I don't think it will be a long wait.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Not So Fast!
The appointment with the Transplant Surgeon today was...interesting. Informative. Confusing!
As it turns out, the tests will go on, the plans will continue, but there's no rush. The liver disease is not bad enough at the moment, and they certainly don't want to go in there until they really need to. Makes sense, and yet I can't help being a little disappointed at the same time! Crazy? Yeah, probably. I guess we've just been getting so geared up for it that it's almost a let down to know that it's not going to happen as quickly as we'd expected.
Overall, though, very good news. Dennis is relieved to know that he's not at death's door, of course. Now if we could just get his kidneys to start working again....
As it turns out, the tests will go on, the plans will continue, but there's no rush. The liver disease is not bad enough at the moment, and they certainly don't want to go in there until they really need to. Makes sense, and yet I can't help being a little disappointed at the same time! Crazy? Yeah, probably. I guess we've just been getting so geared up for it that it's almost a let down to know that it's not going to happen as quickly as we'd expected.
Overall, though, very good news. Dennis is relieved to know that he's not at death's door, of course. Now if we could just get his kidneys to start working again....
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
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?
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?
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