My Mom

Well, it's official. Mom needs to have a liver transplant. We spent the day at MUSC in Charleston on Friday talking to doctors, financial advisors, social workers, etc. It was a full day of overwhelming information. The staff of MUSC is amazing! They were helpful, reassuring, and extremely friendly. We couldn't have had a better experience.

Now, the details. Mom has cirrhosis of the liver. We're unsure what caused it, but the doctor reassured us he'd find the cause. She has rheumatoid arthritis, and she took medicine for it for the past 8 years. The side effects of these medications were major. This is most likely the cause of her liver damage. After meeting with the doctor, he explained the process of the transplant and key points to note:
1) She would need labs, a chest x-ray, a pulmonary test, an upper and lower endoscopy, a biopsy of the liver, a colonoscopy, and the OK from all of her doctors (including her dentist) back in Spartanburg
2) she would be listed after all of the above AND financial approval
3) after being listed, we have to prepare to leave at ANY moment--yes, it could be 2 A.M. on a Tuesday.....we have 6-8 hours to get to MUSC before the organ is no longer good
4) the average wait time on the list is 3 months
5) after the transplant, her recovery begins in the ICU for about 3 days....then she'll stay on the liver transplant floor of MUSC for a few more days....then it's off to a hotel in the Charleston area for a couple of weeks
6) the medication she'll be taking after the transplant will run her over $3,000 for the first year---that's WITH her prescription plan after insurance pays for part of it
7) she'll be returning quite often to MUSC for follow-up exams/procedures
8) the 1-year survival rate at MUSC is 90%....the national average is 88%
9) the cost of food, hotel room(s) for mom, me and my brother, and gas to and from Charleston is going to run about an extra $1,000 (depending on the length of her stay in Charleston)
10) we learned of fundraising possibilities and will be doing this so we can pay for those expenses listed above

We're very optimistic, but still a little scared at this point. If anyone knows anyone who owns a condo or house in the Charleston area that would be willing to let us stay there for mom's transplant surgery and recovery, please let us know. The hotel is very affordable, but if we have to stay for 2 + weeks, it's going to get expensive.

Thank you for your prayers for our family during this time. I will keep you updated on fundraising once we set it up.