Share your transplant story
Post date: Mar 23, 2012 4:29:23 PM
You've read my transplant story, now it is time to share your own.Writing is terrific therapy. And as of late I have been writing at, and reading at, and frequenting, this website called Band Back Together.
Why am I telling you this? Because April is National Organ Donation Month! And the Band is doing a monthly spotlight in April on Donations (Blood, Organ, Tissue).
Tell your story. Get the word out on Organ donation.
What is Band Back Together?
http://www.bandbacktogether.com/
From their site:
Welcome to Band Back Together, a community weblog open to all, created by Aunt Becky from Mommy Wants Vodka.
Who are we? We’re The Band.
We’re a band of survivors. We’re here to put a face to everything once kept in the dark. We’re here to show the world that you can go through hell and come out the other side.
So, pull up that old tattered leather chair and make yourself a drink. Pull your skeletons from their closet and make them dance the tango. Alone, we are small. Together, we are mighty.
We are all connected.
We are none of us alone.
Share your story.
It’s time to get the Band Back Together.
I invite you to share your story. Share why the need is so great.
And speaking of sharing your story...I 'd forgotten bout this one that I shared in 2007 with Donate Life Illinois - http://donatelifeillinois.org/donatelife/donor-diaries.htm#becca
4/05/07, submitted by Becca K., Stillman Valley
I am…a living liver donor.
I am…a mom to the recipient of part of my liver.
I am…a registered organ donor.
I am…are you?
On February 9, 2005 my daughter Natalie received a new (but slightly used) portion of my liver. Natalie needed a new liver because she was born with biliary atresia . It is a progressive disease that over time damaged her liver - a pediatric liver disease with no known cause or cure. Before her transplant, Natalie had many complications of end stage liver disease including: jaundice, portal vein hypertension, ascites, and she had reoccurring infections of Cholangitis. In November of 2004, Natalie was added to the national transplant waiting list. It was shortly after that I was tested and in February of 2005 Natalie received the gift of life for a second time from me.Following this lifesaving transplant, she had her share of complications. Not only did an artery clot, she also experienced issues of rejection, developed PTLD, and developed hemolytic anemia. She also has had reoccurring bile duct issues, which have resulted in her having to keep a PTC drain in place. These current issues stem from damage that was done to the new liver when the hepatic artery clotted. She has been relisted for another, a second, liver transplant.Will you be the one to save her life this time?-
Becca K.