amazing stories

It is so amazing to hear the stories that the people here at the transplant house tell. Their transplants have transformed their lives and letting them live longer than they had ever dreamed. One man here said his wife was so sick before her liver transplant that life was just miserable. Now she's bustling about in her turquoise green outfit and big pink hat to block out the Arizona sun. He told me today that when they knew she was nearing the top of the transplant list, she had packed a bag to be ready just in case; kind of like what they had went through for her pregnancies, he said. They had to be ready at a moment's notice to rush to the hospital. Another man had his liver transplant about three weeks ago and he's walking more than a mile every day early in the morning. His wife dotes on him and I can tell that she's incredibly happy to see him up and walking around again. We joke around because it seems every time I see them, they're at the dining room table eating in the same exact spot. :)

Another couple arrived last night and they have just an awesome story. He is a kidney and pancreas recipient who received his organs from a 17-year-old man a couple years ago. Apparently four weeks before his transplant he was given the opportunity to receive organs from an AIDS patient. He told my mom that he had to decide whether to eventually die from AIDS or to wait it out despite the fear of possibly dying of organ failure. Well, he did get lucky in the end. I thought at first it was strange that they would offer an AIDS patient's organs, but when you need two organs, the liklihood of finding them both is very small. Anyway, he and his wife are in town for their checkups and on Friday they're going to meet their donor's family. His wife told me that they've been in contact for several years now and wanted to finally make contact in person. She said it's going to be incredibly emotional. I can imagine. I only wish I was going to be here to witness it. It's just amazing that this teenager is living on in this man. I just can't imagine ...

Annie update: She threw up again last night and so this morning they put a tube down her nose and into her stomach to start sucking out the yucky stuff. It's made a little bit of difference but she's still in pain. Apparently it's the anti-rejection medication that she's on that is causing problems with her intestines -- and obviously they can't take her off of that. Her surgical team and a few other Mayo Clinic doctors had a meeting this morning to discuss her case and they're working to find a solution to her problem. But she won't be out until a couple more days. :( The kidney is still working though. We're just waiting for her intestines to follow.