AbbieBean

Congrats to all who have gone through the transplant experience. I had my liver transplant in 2001 so I am 10 years out from mine and am grateful every day to just be alive. My tx was due to Hepatitis C, which I got in 1979 after my son was born and I received quite a bit of blood transfused. This was before the blood supply here was considered "safe". In 1992 the blood supply here in the US was considered to be safe here in the US.
My daughter was born in 1980. I did not know I had Hep C when she was born, and she and I did not find out we BOTH had hep C until 1998, when she was 17 yrs old.
My daughter had a healthy childhood, with the exception of frequent nosebleeds.
In 2009 we discovered my daughters liver was being compromised due to the Hep C and she was placed on a transplant list at John's Hopkins in Baltimore.
Sept 16, 2010 she received her lifesaving liver transplant.
Both of our transplant experiences were similar in some ways but very different also. Many things had changed in the transplant world from 2001 to 2010, I discovered. Having gone through it myself and almost not making it back due to many problems both pre and post op, including a 3 month long coma, I was terrified watching my daughter go through it too. It brought back many bad memories for me all through her sickness and transplant and recovery.

My daughter is now going through treatment as the hep invaded her new liver with full force not long after her transplant. She is not quite 1 year out and is enduring the ribovirin and Interferon, I don't know how she does it but she does. All while being a great mom to her daughters who are 9 and 4 years old.

I am not a candidate for treatment anymore, as I have tried it 4 times and am a non-responder. The new drug teleprevir (hope I spelled it right) cannot be prescribed to post transplant patients. It has not been tested by the FDA for safe use in transplant patients.

I became very involved with my local consortium and for Donate Life America. I support organ donation (of course) and speak to large groups about organ donation and organ transplants. It's my way of "giving back", since I am not in a financial position to donate money to the many organizations I like to support. I am considered disabled due to the many other diagnosis' that I have, most of which came from the transplant and the long period of time I was in a coma. So I am a reluctantly retired, now. I sure do miss that income...