Hi schacquie. In November 2021 I was told I had inoperable bile duct cancer and 2 months to live, or with chemo and radiation, maybe 2 years before my body couldn't take it any more. I was also told that skip calling Mayo because at age 71, I was too old to get a transplant. So a friend insisted that I call Mayo. Lo and behold, Mayo already knew about me thanks to my Physician's Assistant who had called them. I had to have all my testing done by my local cancer center sent to Mayo.
December I had 3 weeks of testing. The first Wednesday of January the Mayo transplant team board reviewed my case, and at the end of January, 2022, I was at Mayo for my 5 weeks of proton radiation and chemo pills.
My case was surprisingly fast. There was about a month of waiting before before an exploratory surgery checked to see if the cancer had spread.
Much to my surprise, by mid April on a Friday evening I got a call that my inactive status on my MELD score of 6 had been bumped up to active at a MELD score of 26 and I would be expecting a call from the donor organization soon.
I thought "soon" meant in a few months as opposed to a few years.
Less than 48 hours later I get the call that my donor's family was unplugging the equipment that no longer could bring their lived one back to them. Monday late night, I was prepped for surgery and Tuesday April 20 at 2 a.m. my cousin as my primary caregiver got a text from Mayo "old liver out - new liver in".
Though overweight, I was relatively fit with no drinking or drug habits. My blood type is common. Matches are just that. They have to pair up with your size, weight, and other details. I was very blessed and lucky that my donor ajdo129 was a match.
I hope that all those who are reading this find hope and help as I am writing this just a few weeks shy if my 4th "liversary".
Barbara