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Saturday evening, one year ago, began the rest of my life. It was Friday afternoon, November 21, 2008 at about 5:30 p.m. that I received a call from CPMC (California Pacific Medical Center). After such a long wait I was totally taken by surprise, when I heard the words: “Get to the hospital, we have a liver for you!” They told me not to eat anything and get there ASAP! I sat in shock for about five minutes and then started making phone calls to find a ride to San Francisco.

Within about 10 minutes I tracked down my girlfriend Roz and then located my sister, Diane (an RN). I had already packed a bag for this special occasion, so it was only a matter of finding a ride in a hurry! Roz was there within about a half hour, and we were on our way to a new experience and a new life.

During the ride down, Roz looked over at me and asked if I was nervous. My reply was easy and instant: “NO, I am excited! Anything will be better than the existence that I have had for the last 4 years.”

Within an hour and fifteen minutes of the call, we were at the hospital and I was checking in. Fortunately, the liver I was about to receive was just across the San Francisco Bay, where a couple of doctors from the transplant team were harvesting it from the donor to deliver fresh to CPMC. The speed with which the organ goes from the donor to the recipient is critical. This turned out to be one of the luckiest days of my life.

Once I was in the room, Roz began receiving phone calls from friends and family. Word travels fast in Petaluma! I had made two phone calls and within two hours, much of the community knew my status.

First, all of the pre-op activities began, consisting of test after test. Then the waiting began. I wanted to get started, the staff meticulously checked me and the donor’s liver to make sure everything was a go. There have been people in my situation sent home, just because one little thing wasn’t perfect! CPMC is very thorough in making sure that everything is one hundred percent perfect, or they just don’t chance it.

The wait in the room was a long one. My sister Diane and Roz were troopers, waiting all night long until I went into surgery, which wasn’t until almost six in the morning. They were both dozing off and there was no way that I could sleep. Finally, at about 4:00 a.m., the doctor came in to inform me of any and all risks involved. I asked him one question: “If it was your wife laying here in my condition, what would you advise her to do?” His immediate response was to say, “Go for it,” to which I said, “Then, let’s do this!”

From there we went to meet with the anesthesia team. They explained what was going to happen from start to finish. Afterwards, it was more waiting.

Finally they came and got me right before 6:00 AM. I remember getting a shot to relax me and then talking to the staff in the OR. Suddenly, it was lights out for THIS guy! I learned later that there were about 20 people involved in the OR during my transplant. I do know that there are two surgeons that I owe my life to.

Next stop was the recovery room. I remember hearing noise and fussing around my bed. When I woke up, my head was clear and there was a new fresh feeling I had. My first response was to pull the covers back to make sure this wasn’t just a dream! The incision proved that it wasn’t. In fact, I kept checking about every twenty to thirty minutes, just to make sure. My first words were, “How long have I been out?” I was told it was about ten hours. The surgery took longer because they also repaired a hernia in my stomach at the same time. They had to cut through a lot of old scar tissue to repair this injury. Actually, recovery from the hernia repair was more painful than the transplant was.
Next, it was off to ICU for a couple of days. By the third day I was getting up, using the bathroom, doing exercises, and walking the hallways. By the fifth day I was eating just about a normal diet. That was a good thing because it was Thanksgiving and I got to have a turkey dinner.

What timing! I was eating Thanksgiving dinner all alone, but it was the most thankful and grateful day of my life! This Thanksgiving will be the one year anniversary of my transplant, and again, I am extremely thankful that I am lucky enough to be here to enjoy it. It feels like a major milestone.

Stay tuned for the next blog on what happened during the course of the year.

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