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Show wowwessv mest TE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS March GIFT OF LIFE cont. from page 1 When considering a potential liver for transplant the medical transplant team considers blood type and size. Holmes, a considerably small patient would need a liver that was small enough to fit and function within her body. She would also need a donor that had a blood type compatible with her A positive blood. As time went by and Holmes waited for a liver transplant, she began to suffer more and more from the symptoms of her disease. The liver’s job is to take out the toxins that enter the body. Because her liver was not functioning, and toxins began to build up within her, her eyes became yellow in color, and her skin turned a greenish hue. “I looked like the Grinch,” Holmes says “Tt was miserable to eat because my body wasn’t able to tolerate those things that entered it. I had to force myself to eat.” Holmes lost so much weight that she was sometimes mistaken as severely anorexic. Another horrible symptom of having toxins building up inside her body was terrible itching all over her body. Holmes explains how she would come home and rub her feet on the carpet, and how she still has scars on her stomach and all over her body because she itched so “It was like having terrible mosquito ites, but ten times worse, and like the itching is coming from deep inside you.” Carol Holmes, shown on right with friend Susan Warnes, approximately I and a hal months before having her liver tr ansplant. Holmes was called on three separate occasions and informed that they possibly had a donor for her. All three of these times she was eventually sent home. In Holmes’ case the potential liver was often too large. “When you are on the list for organ donation the doctors on the transplant team have to know where you are at all times. Everywhere I went I took my bags all packed for the hospital. When ae call you, would just drop everything an Holmes says that it was a tense feeling to never know what was going to happen. “I stopped calling my husband during the day because he would always wonder ifI was calling to say that my liver had come, and he stopped calling me because there was the possibility that if they were unable to reach me they may contact him first.” Although Holmes continued to become weaker and weaker, she still was determined to get up each day and go to work and go to the gym. She became so weak instead of running her laps at the gym, it was all she could do to walk slowly around the track. Although friends and family urged her to take it easy, Holmes felt it necessary to keep going, to keep fighting with all her might. 25, 2006 started out like any ordinary day. “I was so tired I could hardly move, but I had a hair appointment that day. You just don’t miss a hair appointment,” she says with a laugh. It was during her hair appointment that the call came. The tr plant team informed her to get to LDS ce tal as soon as possible. Holmes contacted her husband Mitch, but he was still in the Valley while she was already in Ogden so she decided to leave without waiting for him. Instead, she went with her hairdresser who happened to be good a good friend. “It was good my friend Jesse was with me because I had a few moments of near road rage. As we got near the hospital an old man was driving up the narrow streets of the avenues probably going to visit his sweet elderly wife, and he was driving so slow. I almost lost it. I just wanted to get to the hospital.” Holmes husband, two sons, and members of her intermediate family soon joined her at the hospital. She was taken into a hospital room and prepped for surgery. Even at that point they tell you that there are no guaran- Page 17 1, 2007 Holmes is celebrating the one-year anniversary of her liver transplant. “I’m doing so well, and I’m so thankful for this special gift of life.” Holmes attributes her strength in getting through her ordeal to her faith, family, friends, and of course the family of her donor. ‘All I know about my donor is that he was a sixteen year old male. It’s up to the donor’s family to decide if they want to ever make contact with me. I’m so thankful that this family, although suffering from such personal loss, made the decision to give this gift of life to me. What a hing to do in a time of sorrow.” Holmes explains that it’s kind of hard to receive such happiness knowing that another person experienced sadness, but I have to realize that I was not the cause of the death. This person didn’t pass away to give me his liver, but because of that loss, something positive can come from it.” Holmes has a deep belief that there is life after death. “I know that I’m going to meet this young man some day and be able to thank him.” Holmes has inspired many people around her to become organ donors. She works with many youth in her LDS ward who have all registered as donors after seeing how organ donation saved Holmes’ life. or more information on how to become an organ donor go to <www.organdonor.gov> Organ and Tissue Donation—know the facts Organ, eye, and tissue donation offers one family solace and consolation as time goes on...And another family a second chance at life. Most people only talk about organ donation. Most have no idea what tissue donation is or that it is even possible. Talk with your family. Now is the time to have all of your questions answered. Carol Holmes one year after her transplant. tees. “It’s hard to decide who to call and how to react because you just don’t know for sure if you actually will have an ideal match.” When Holmes was admitted to the hospital she was so sick that the staff was surprised she hadn’t been hospitalized already. In many cases patients get so sick that they pass away while waiting for the a organ match. At around 4 p.m., Holmes and her husband heard the helicopter leaving the hospital. The helicopter leaves and goes to the hospital, sometimes even going to the airport and then flying on a jet plane to receive the organ. The donor could be living anywhere in Utah or perhaps a surrounding state. The transplant team goes and harvests the organ from the deceased organ donor. They don’t know until this time of harvesting the organ, how it looks, if it’s completely healthy, or if it will be the right size. At approximately 5:50 p.m., Holmes heard the helicopter return to LDS Hospital. The doctors informed her and her family that “It was a go”. s she was leaving for surgery and hospital staff wheeled her into an elevator, the doors closed and the last thing she saw was her husband. “It was the first time I was truly scared. What if never saw him again.” olmes was in surgery for nine long hours. Later the doctors showed Holmes a picture of her liver. It was green and full of toxins and infection. It was so disintegrated that surgeons feared it would spread infection throughout her body when they tried to remove it, possibly killing her. She also learned later that there was a second person prepped for surgery and ready to receive the organ if they were not able to successfully remove her diseased liver. An average liver is about 6 pounds: hers was around twenty0. Luckily her bad liver came out successfully and th ley Surgeons said that as ‘she received her new liver her skin color immediately began to improve. Holmes knew when she finally woke up that things were going to be all right. She told her husband, “T hurt so much, but at the same time I feel better.” In fact, Holmes did so well after the surgery that she was able to go home in six days, instead of the typical 2- 6 weeks. There are side effects from her liver transplant, however. For one thing she has to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of her life, to keep her body from fighting off her new liver. “This medication keeps my immune system low, so I have to be extremely careful and try to avoid anyone who is sick. I can become sick very easily.” Another side effect of the medication is bad headaches, but Holmes says that now her headaches are tolerable. Now a year later, on February 25, 2007, The Reality: Currently, there are over 100,000 people in the US waiting for solid organs transplant. Less than 2% of deaths in the United States occur in a way that would allow someone to be an organ donor. More than 95% of all deaths that occur in the United States are potential tissue and eye donors The Need: * Over 118,000 burn victims lives depend on skin grafts, and currently there is only enough skin to save 12,000 people. * Close to 11,000 heart valves are needed each year to sustain life primarily in children, and there is only enough for 1/2 * * that many. . es Over 250,000 people are still waiting for bone tissue transplants. ; a Over 7,000 people are still waiting for nal of sight through cornea trans- plan AS of December 1, 2006 in Utah alone, 279 people wait for an organ transplant. Some Frequently Asked Questions Who can become a donor? All individuals can indicate their intent to donate (persons under 18 years of age mus have parent’s rdian’s consent). Medical suitability for donation is determined at the time of death. Are there age limits for donors? There are no age limitations on who can donate. The deciding factor on whether a person can donate is the person’s physical condition, not the person’s age. Newborns as well as senior citizens have been organ donors. Persons younger than 18 years of age must have a parent’s or guardian’s consent. How do I express my wishes to become an organ and tissue donor? 1. Indicate your intent to be an organ and tissue donor on your driver’s license. 2. Carry an organ donor card <http:/Avww.organdonor.gov/signup 1 .html> 3. Most important, discuss your decision with family members and loved ones. IfI sign a donor card or indicate my donation preferences on my driver’s license, will my wishes be carried out? Even if you sign a donor card it is important, but not essential in all states, that your family know your wishes. Your family may be asked to sign a consent form in order for your donation to occur. If you wish to learn how organ donation preferences are documented and honored where you live, contact your local organ procurement organization (OPO). The OPO can advise you of specific local procedures, such as joining donor registries that are available to residents in your area. What can be donated? Organs: heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver, and intestines 1 d | Liteal Tissue: cornea, skin, bone marrow, heart valves, and connective tissue ‘ Bone marrow | 801-745-6438 WWW.WASATCHEVENTRENT.COM CHECK YOUR ASPHALT |! A little Sealcoat and Crackseal every few years for pennies per sq ft goes a long way to preserving an expensive investment for dollars down the road | If you don't have asphalt, call us for a bid today before the season start | Wedding sf Event Equipment. Visit our website Wasatch Paving 745-3006 www. 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