Patient Tesimonial: Patrick Burke - Transplantation

"I am a ten-year old student at the F.L. Olmsted School. Just this school year, my father was part of a live liver donation. I had to be very brave during this time. I am very grateful to have a wonderful family and a very heroic dad. This is a story that changed my life.

On a beautiful August morning at my Cape house, I was on my screened-in porch. My mother came out with some news. My uncle had a very sick liver, and needed help fast. She told me that Dad wanted to do whatever he could to help our uncle, Stephen. I couldn't believe what I had heard. "What was going on?" I thought. "Will Stephen be alright?" I kept thinking.

I couldn't fall asleep at night for a long time. My dad was going to doctors and hospitals getting tested. He was seeing if he was the right match to donate some of his liver to Stephen. I hoped that he would not be a match, and somebody else would. Soon, we found out that my dad was a perfect match in late September. He would be donating sixty-five percent of his liver to his brother. I couldn't believe what was happening.

I was very scared. On October 16, 2003, my parents went off to the Lahey Clinic, where the surgery took place. I was very worried about what might happen, and will it be on time to save Stephen's life. I was really starting to miss my parents, and I wanted this to be over. I had no idea about what was happening, or what already happened for about two days. I got a phone call on October 18, 2003, and the surgery was a...success!

Although I was extremely happy about the surgery, I still had some worries. I was afraid that when my father came home, he might not be able to do the things he used to do with me, like play hockey, go to the batting cages and try to hit the really fast ones, or play catch with me. Still today, I wonder and worry about how long my father's liver will last in my uncle's body. As you can see, I still had some worries.

Luckily, the surgery went great, and my father and uncle are fine today. My father can do just as many things as before, and the same with Stephen. They are a lot closer now, and our families do many things together now. I am glad that I was brave during this time and so was my father. My dad didn't just give Stephen some of his liver; he saved his life."




Original Published Link Patient Tesimonial: Patrick Burke - Transplantation

#Alright, #F.L.OlmstedSchool, #HeroicDad., #Surgery #Transplant

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breast Cancer Survivor Uses Her Experience to Help Other Women

Image
On a typical day at  Johns Hopkins Medical Imaging at Green Spring Station , patients coming in for imaging tests such as  MRIs ,  ultrasounds  and  mammograms have a comforting advocate available in the waiting room. Kate Pisano is a patient liaison — there to meet the needs of the patients by providing resources and support. With Kate’s smile and cheerful attitude, it’s not obvious that recently she too was a patient sitting in the waiting room confronting her own major health challenges. Two years ago Kate was fighting breast cancer and facing it alone as a single working mother of two teenaged sons. Months after a painful divorce, Kate noticed a lump in her breast while getting undressed. “I was afraid of what the lump might mean, so I waited several weeks before finally making an appointment with my doctor,” she said. That appointment led to a mammogram followed by a  biopsy . In April of 2012, Kate’s greatest fear was confirmed: She had breast cancer. “The diagnosis was a complet
Read more

Having pancreatic cancer a suspicious tumor on your pancreas

Image
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=QDwctWY-DOQ Joseph “Cook” Edens III doesn’t let pancreatic cancer get in the way of living a full life. Edens was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent a Whipple procedure at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Unfortunately, a bout of pancreatitis returned, and in 2015, surgeon Christopher Wolfgang and his team performed a total pancreatectomy on Edens, removing his entire pancreas and spleen. The Arlington, Virginia, resident is now cancer-free and back to a busy lifestyle of work, sports and family time. About Johns Hopkins Pancreatic Cancer Care Having pancreatic cancer — or a suspicious tumor on your pancreas — is a frightening diagnosis. Johns Hopkins experts, some of the most experienced pancreatic specialists in the country, are working to dispel fear and create hope in patients with pancreatic disease. Pancreatic cancer, tumors and cysts are being treated with dramatic success at Johns Hopkins. The first step when dealing w
Read more

Howard's Weight Loss Journey

Image
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfmgTU6L524 HOME››ABOUT LAHEY TEXT SIZE | SHARE | PRINT Howard's Story “I thank them for helping me get to where I’m at, and they keep telling me that it was all me doing the work. But, I know that if I wasn’t coming every two weeks to see them, I wouldn’t be this way.” They say timing is everything, and in April 2011, Howard Jardine was eager to change his life. Weighing in at 405 pounds, he decided it was finally time to join Lahey’s Medical Weight Loss program. Looking back, Howard says it was one of the best decisions he has ever made, as he found support from a team that encouraged and motivated him throughout his weight loss journey. At 405 pounds, Howard was the heaviest he had ever been, and the heaviest that he wanted to be. He was starting to feel the strain that the weight was causing on his relationship with his five-year-old daughter, and he didn’t want to miss out on her milestones. Howard’s mother was overweight and suffered a stroke a
Read more