2/22/02
8pm

I have been with my wife since the age of 20 and she was 18. It has been 15 years and we have been married for 9 years this past November. She has always been athletic and involved in all sorts of sports. She has a masters degree in Audiology and is very successful women . When we were married she was a healthy 145 and standing 5'9" tall. Why am I telling you this. Because at the age of 33 she is dying. She currently weighs 98lbs. But there is hope.

My wife is in need of a liver transplant. She was diagnosed with Primary Schlorosing Cholangitis about 5 years ago. This is the disease that took the life of football great Walter Payton. It is also the disease that Chris Klug (s/p) Olympic snow boarder overcame with a transplant and went on to win a bronze this year in Salt Lake.

Her health has dramatically declined over the past 3 months and the time has come. The only problem, getting a liver is next to impossible these days with the epidemic of hepatitis. The Doctors have suggested we look into a family member donating part of their liver. This is a fairly new procedure but has been very successful.

So her cousin has agreed to be a living donor and is currently being tested to make sure she is compatible all preliminary test are very good. This testing will take approx. 3 weeks and the surgery will follow shortly there after. If all goes well my wife will be back to normal in a few months. It's hard to believe b/c of the difficult time she is having lately.

The hard part is the waiting and the not knowing if her cousin is compatible that is what we are dealing with now. Not to mention the stress of the possibility she gets fired from her job while on disability(remote I'm sure) and then the insurance fiasco begins. She just notified her job today of what is going on.

I will keep everyone posted as to how everything is going.

Keep her in your prayers this is a very difficult time for us and our family.

 

both of you are in my prayers.
she has a very unfortunate problem. But you are already aware of the bad (payton) and the good (klug) that can come out of this.
living relate donors are a very good option. i still have some friends in the philly medical community- if you wish to p.m. me the name of your present hepatologist/gastroenterologist i can run it through "my people" and see what they think...but if you are happy with him/her thats all that matters.
best of luck.

 

Charlie, my prayers are with you and your wife.

I hope that in this tough time you can find a small bit of a distraction from your troubles and a lot of sympathy and support from your friends here.

I don't know what I can offer to do to help. But if there is anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck and again my prayers are with you.

-- Tom

 

Charlie:

I wish you and your wife the absolute best, and I'm sure that everything will work out just fine. In fact, I recently seen a TV program where they successfully performed the same operation your wife will soon have.

Just think, before the summer is out, your wife will be 100% again.

 

Charlie,

Your wife has often been in our prayers since we met last year in New Hope and you told us why your wife could not join us for our drive.

I will continue to think good thoughts and hope that your wife's cousin is a good tissue match. I can only hope that I would have the kind of courage exhibited by your wife's cousin in a similar situation.

If your wife's cousin's company gives her a hard time about the time off from work for the procedure and her recovery, please PM me the company name and the HR Director's name. I would like to speak to them about how proud and greatful they should be to have such an employee.

Be strong,


Steve & Barbara

 

Charlie,

Our hearts and prayers are with you, Michele, and your children. We can only imagine how difficult a time this is for you, and if there is any way we can help, please let us know.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mdb
[B]both of you are in my prayers.
she has a very unfortunate problem.

 

Thanks Steve..... her cousin works for Apple in California and they are very supportive of her. As matter fact we booked her flight today back to the east coast for March 2nd. The remaining tests will be performed shortly thereafter and we should have our answer. If all is well surgery will be at the end of March.

 

Thanks for everyones support and prayers. We have a very special community here and I feel very connected to the members here. This place and my car have been my therapy for the past 2 plus years and it helps get my mind off of the pressures associated with my wifes disease.

 

Charlie

I never met your wife but I am sorry to hear that she is very sick. I know I cannot do anything but I still wish she can get well soon and joining us for a little drive. Good lock and please keep us inform.
Charlie