We had our initial visit with the UW today, and all in all I have to say they were kind, courteous, and pretty darn fast in the testing we had to do (lab work, EKG, Chest X-Ray, lab work again...). We met with the Hepatology fellow (a doctor who is studying a speciality, kinda like a residency on steroids) and the Hepatology attending (the official shot caller). They were both nice and informative, and very optimistic! Alex is considered to be an 'excellent candidate' for liver transplant and that is great news!!
We will return on August 3&4 to do a two day long series of tests, educational seminars, and meetings (including an hour and half long meeting with one of the transplant doctors--I have never spoken to a doctor that long ever, and I am a medical professional!). Interestingly, one of the doctors at the U was the transplant doctor for Olympic medal winner Chris Klug (please see this short article on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/26/chris-klug-us-snowboarder_n_478863.html) which is kinda cool.
Also, we were told today that the three best places to get a liver are---Jacksonville, FL, the state of Indiana, annnnnnnnnnnd--The University of WA Medical Center! This is due to a good location, making livers more available (not exactly sure how this works, but you usually get a transplant at a MELD of 25 [Please see previous entry on MELD scoring] at the U and it's more like 30 other places--which means you are a lot sicker, longer, without the new liver.) And our MELD is 18, which is not terrible, not amazing (normal is 6). All in all, a good trip with positive news--yay!
We were so blessed to be hosted by some friends of friends in Bothell, deferring our housing costs and allowing Erin friends to play with, a great BBQ dinner, and fireworks (yes, they are legal there!). We had a great time and feel so fortunate for the kindness we were given.
That's all for now, will hopefully be back shortly. Oh, and one last thing...they actually know if we will have a likely match about 24 hours before it's time to do the surgery--so it's not actually as much of a rush as we thought (picture middle of the night phone call and the ensuing insanity) and that is really nice, knowing we will have a bit more time to get our selves together. We can still travel within 6 hours or so and live a 'normal'-ish life. And God is good :)
Blessings to you all, keep on praying!
