I had written an introductory paragraph 4 hours ago when my old friend (High School) Suzanne Carlisle Ryan came by with lunch- and when I got up to greet her, I closed the blog without saving it! Now that admission took some courage since I made my living for 22 years selling, configuring and (on occasion) installing computer networks. I've lost a lot more than one paragraph in times past- I just didn't publish the fact.
I have been so blessed by Suzanne's presence in my life lately- we were very close "spend the night" buddies at MacArthur & South Park, plus we attended Roberts Avenue Methodist Church together, which included summer camp and lots of youth activities, but then we diverged when it came time for college, and after we had both married and moved off in different directions, we just lost touch like people do. We've been sending Christmas cards for several years, and then last summer, she & David moved from their long-time home in Austin to Beaumont. Suzanne's mother Norma had passed away in 2007, and David & Suzanne live in the townhouse she left which is not too far from here. She has attended a few of our SPHS "Girls Night Out", and in fact she went last night, so she was able to give me a report on that. My purpose here is to update everyone on the transplant process- it has been such a convoluted mess, that I don't expect anyone to be able to recall the twists & turns, so I have tried to summarize it here:
(1) I started at Methodist Hospital in Houston, on the advice of my pulmonologist, and on March 22 I had been accepted into the transplant program, pending full evaluation
(2) The first thing they verified, of course, was my insurance. Although Methodist is a Blue Cross/Blue Shield network hospital, they refused to cover an organ transplant anywhere in Texas except Dallas, because they require hospitals they approve to be certified as "Blue Transplant Centers of Distinction". The fact that organ transplant surgery was pioneered in Houston seems not to be a factor.
(3) my Houston pulmonologist put me on the fast track to be evaluated in Dallas, and I spent a week there having about 50 (low estimate) different tests run- they literally run every test they can think of on every organ in your body to ferret out problems that have not been diagnosed
(4) While I was there, my BCBS case manager appealed the decision re: approval in Houston & Blue Cross reversed it, giving me the green light to have the surgery in Houston
(5) With absolutely NO help from Dallas, but with lots of footwork by Stratton, I got all my test results moved from Baylor in Dallas to Methodist in Houston after working on it for 3 weeks
When I left Houston, after being there from 8:00-5:00, it was with the understanding that the general consensus was that I am more or less an ideal candidate for a double lung transplant, and that they will be meeting to consider listing me Tuesday. So we will see. That is what they said in Dallas, too- 6 weeks ago. Of course Houston is my choice for all kinds of reasons- mostly their experience. When you compare a center whose surgeons have done 71 lung transplants so far in 2010 with one that averages 10-20 per year, there has to be some consideration given to the fact that the more they have done, the more efficient they become, and also, they will have seen all kinds of potential and real complications and have an idea about best practices. I will write again next week- definitely on Tuesday or Wednesday if I get a call with my status.
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