Well, yesterday was a big day. Kim from the UW Transplant team called to inform me that all the testing, preliminary screening, education and interviews had finally paid off! She was listing me on UNOS, the central transplant organization that coordinates donors, recipients and the transplant centers for North America, (http://www.unos.org/). This means the real wait begins ...
I had the matching blood work done two weeks ago and began the Hepatitis B vaccination regime, a series of four shots over six months. This vaccination series will allow me to accept a donor that had been exposed to Hepatitis B in their lifetime, while minimizing the risk of my contracting the disease. This expands the donor pool a little. Since I have B type blood, which is a rarer, anything that increases the odds in my favor helps. This are two of the selection criteria items that are constant. The others include, current physical condition, (I'm still losing weight!), the progress of the disease, and others I can't remember right now...
I'm due back for check up in late June when they'll retest the pulmonary functions, (my least favorite part of the testing!), give me the second dose of the vaccine and redo some blood tests to refresh my records. I'll be subject to this every three months until the "event."
In the meantime the medical bills have begun to come in. That's the scary part. So far the preliminary testing has surpassed $30,000. As stated earlier, the projected total will fall between 4$750K and $1M! The insurance from Pitney Bowes has covered all but 20% and now the task is to begin to pay the copays. The COBRA of these benefits are good for 14 more months.
I'm doing menial work now and need to find a real job soon. I'm looking at several options, since Social Security Disability has a five month wait period that ends in August, income is necessary. I'll likely need to supplement that SSA income to stay ahead of the game. I hope the economy becomes a little friendly to baby-boomers soon!
I want to take this opportunity to thank all my followers, supporters, family and friends who continue to provide encouragement, prayers and moral support. It really does help in my weaker moments.
I love all you guys!
Hopefully, Blog #10 will been a new discussion; The Recovery Phase!
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