Megan's #largelivergiver
Donation protected
Our Mom, Debbie, is in need of a new liver. Megan has been approved to be able to donate a portion of her liver to help my Mom! This is the second time Megan will be able to be a living donor to help save a life. She was also a match for a child that needed bone marrow and donated for that in 2012. To give everyone some background on why my Mom needs a new liver...
It all started when my mother was born. She was born in Croatia and was put into an orphanage at birth. She lived there for the first four years of her life. At that time, they inoculated the kids in the orphanage using the same needles, which is where we believe that she contracted Hepatitis C. She never had any symptoms while growing up from the Hep C.
On April 15, 1996, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through a rigorous battle including chemotherapy and radiation. Thankfully she has been cancer free ever since. However, after these treatments, her Hepatitis decided to make an appearance. Once this was discovered, she underwent four rounds of treatments from 2002 - 2015. After the third round of treatments, she was able to get rid of the Hepatitis C. Despite there only being a 1% chance of it coming back, that ugly monster came back and she was one of the 1%! Thankfully, with medicine improving, Harvoni came out and with a minimally invasive treatment that only required her to take a pill regimen. This finally got rid of the Hepatitis C!!! We were all ecstatic!
Even with getting rid of the Hep C, the 10+ years of having the disease in her body did start some cirrhosis in her liver. With consistent check ups, the doctors monitored her liver. So far so good.
On February 1, 2018, our lives again were turned upside down. I received a call from my Dad at 1am because my mother had fallen down the stairs at their house. I could hear her screaming in pain in the background as the paramedics were loading her into the ambulance. We immediately met the ambulance at Hillcrest. I can honestly say I have never seen someone in so much pain in my life. It was AWFUL! From the fall, she broke several ribs, fractured multiple vertebrae, and had internal bleeding. She was in the ICU for 10 days. While recovering from the fall, she was pumped with a lot of pain medication and had contrasts done to determine what was going on. We finally got her discharged to a skilled rehab facility. While at rehab, my family was noticing a lot of cognitive issues. We knew something wasn't right and we made an appointment with the liver doctor. When he saw her, he immediately had her admitted to the Cleveland Clinic because her liver was failing.
Without hesitation, my sister from the start said that if she was able to donate she wanted to help my Mom. My sister and my Mom have a very special bond. If we ever needed to talk my Mom into anything, my sister was always the one given the job. Megan is my Mom's person.
While Megan went through her testing process to be a donor, my Mom also had to go through a lot of testing make sure she was healthy enough to handle a transplant. In the testing, they went into do an echocardiogram where they found that three of her four arteries were severely blocked. She now needs a triple bypass. We were devastated and didn't even know if this was possibility based on her conditions. The saving grace... WE LIVE IN CLEVELAND = THE CLEVELAND CLINIC!!!
The Cleveland Clinic has been amazing. We talked with doctors, coordinators, nurses, and social workers on a daily basis. The support they have given us is hard to even describe. We have said several times that without the clinic, we would probably not have my Mom today.
On Friday July 13th, we all got the news we had been waiting months for: MY SISTER IS AN OFFICIAL MATCH!!! As of right now, we are scheduled for my Mom to undergo the triple bypass and liver transplant with Megan on August 15th. This could always change and we have been told through this entire process take things one day at a time. However, we are hopeful for the 15th and can't wait to get our Mom back.
The selfless act my sister is doing is why we would like to raise funds. We want to take away any financial costs that they will incur throughout this process.
Thank you all for reading this long post and for all of the prayers and meals that people have provided in the last 6 months. The acts of kindness you all have made really have been a blessing to all of us!
Much love - The Mulhall Family
It all started when my mother was born. She was born in Croatia and was put into an orphanage at birth. She lived there for the first four years of her life. At that time, they inoculated the kids in the orphanage using the same needles, which is where we believe that she contracted Hepatitis C. She never had any symptoms while growing up from the Hep C.
On April 15, 1996, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through a rigorous battle including chemotherapy and radiation. Thankfully she has been cancer free ever since. However, after these treatments, her Hepatitis decided to make an appearance. Once this was discovered, she underwent four rounds of treatments from 2002 - 2015. After the third round of treatments, she was able to get rid of the Hepatitis C. Despite there only being a 1% chance of it coming back, that ugly monster came back and she was one of the 1%! Thankfully, with medicine improving, Harvoni came out and with a minimally invasive treatment that only required her to take a pill regimen. This finally got rid of the Hepatitis C!!! We were all ecstatic!
Even with getting rid of the Hep C, the 10+ years of having the disease in her body did start some cirrhosis in her liver. With consistent check ups, the doctors monitored her liver. So far so good.
On February 1, 2018, our lives again were turned upside down. I received a call from my Dad at 1am because my mother had fallen down the stairs at their house. I could hear her screaming in pain in the background as the paramedics were loading her into the ambulance. We immediately met the ambulance at Hillcrest. I can honestly say I have never seen someone in so much pain in my life. It was AWFUL! From the fall, she broke several ribs, fractured multiple vertebrae, and had internal bleeding. She was in the ICU for 10 days. While recovering from the fall, she was pumped with a lot of pain medication and had contrasts done to determine what was going on. We finally got her discharged to a skilled rehab facility. While at rehab, my family was noticing a lot of cognitive issues. We knew something wasn't right and we made an appointment with the liver doctor. When he saw her, he immediately had her admitted to the Cleveland Clinic because her liver was failing.
Without hesitation, my sister from the start said that if she was able to donate she wanted to help my Mom. My sister and my Mom have a very special bond. If we ever needed to talk my Mom into anything, my sister was always the one given the job. Megan is my Mom's person.
While Megan went through her testing process to be a donor, my Mom also had to go through a lot of testing make sure she was healthy enough to handle a transplant. In the testing, they went into do an echocardiogram where they found that three of her four arteries were severely blocked. She now needs a triple bypass. We were devastated and didn't even know if this was possibility based on her conditions. The saving grace... WE LIVE IN CLEVELAND = THE CLEVELAND CLINIC!!!
The Cleveland Clinic has been amazing. We talked with doctors, coordinators, nurses, and social workers on a daily basis. The support they have given us is hard to even describe. We have said several times that without the clinic, we would probably not have my Mom today.
On Friday July 13th, we all got the news we had been waiting months for: MY SISTER IS AN OFFICIAL MATCH!!! As of right now, we are scheduled for my Mom to undergo the triple bypass and liver transplant with Megan on August 15th. This could always change and we have been told through this entire process take things one day at a time. However, we are hopeful for the 15th and can't wait to get our Mom back.
The selfless act my sister is doing is why we would like to raise funds. We want to take away any financial costs that they will incur throughout this process.
Thank you all for reading this long post and for all of the prayers and meals that people have provided in the last 6 months. The acts of kindness you all have made really have been a blessing to all of us!
Much love - The Mulhall Family
Organizer
Elizabeth Mulhall Tarkowsky
Organizer
Cleveland, OH