Medical Paradise - Part II

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

Because GHSU has all my records and test results from all of my doctors, as soon as the transplant committee meets (within the next ten days) and approves my case, I will be placed on the active list at that institution. That's the good news. The bad news is that GHSU doesn't list patients until their kidney function is 20% or less. I just broke that barrier and dropped to 20%. They don't consider patients for surgery unless kidney function is less than 10% AND they are experiencing debilitating symptoms. According to my nephrologist, when my kidney function drops to 10%, she wants to initiate dialysis. Not much chance of a pre-emptive transplant there. However, six weeks from referral to evaluation is a BIG point in their favor.

That brings me back to MUSC. If I undergo the cardiac catheterization they will place me on active status. I have that in writing. However, knowing their ability to throw up roadblocks, I have no doubt that they'll come up with something else. My nephrologist feels that I can easily withstand the procedure and that as long as renal protection protocols are in place I should come through just fine. My local hospital, where I have been treated for years, just opened a cardiac care center affiliated with Duke University Medical Center. Not too shabby and I bet they're on top of the renal protocols. So that's an option.

Yet another option is to be referred to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. That is the only institution of the three that is not a university-affiliated teaching hospital and I have to wonder if their protocol is different than MUSC or GHSU. There is only one way to find out and that's to go through their process. I will wait until I receive confirmation from GHSU but if it says what I think it will (thanks for playing, please come back when you're REALLY sick) I'll ask my nephrologist for a referral.

In the meantime, it has been suggested that I write a book about my experience. I think an appropriat title would be "My Walk through the Labyrinth"!

And here endeth the blog!