Pittsburgh May 19, 2009

Well, I was able to listen in on the phone call with the Dr’s in Pittsburgh. Two of them spoke and I am going to write a synopsis of what they said.
Basically, they really talked to Melissa about her quality of life. What she does, how much she can do, what are her limitations, how often she has been in the hospital, her keen sense of knowing when there is something not exactly right with her blood work, and how she is managing her fluid retention and new medicines to handle the fluid. They spoke of the risks involved. Then they talked about the importance of balancing the risks. They spoke about how much better she is today than one year ago with the change in medication. (They changed a lot of medication when they first started talking transplant, trying to help Melissa manage the fluid retention). The one Dr. asked her what her gut feeling was and she replied, “not to do it now”. He stated that her gut feeling was right! Her survival rate is about 80% for the first year. Her 5 year survival rate is 75%. Her ten year survival rate is 50%. If they can keep her quality of life as is, then we can buy time. Maybe, it will only be a few months, maybe it could be a few years. Never the less we buy time! They were sure that with Melissa’s knowing of her body and her gut feeling that she will know when the time is right. There is another appointment tomorrow, but my feeling is that it will be more of the same. They still need to take all of this to the committee and get back with us. They are telling Melissa that the risks are high and that she hold the decision on when is the right time. All she needs to do is make a call, jump on a plane and once in Pittsburgh they will list her. I do believe this will be a long process. Melissa is a bit overwhelmed to say the least. It is a life or death decision and responsibility. I know this girl, and I know she can do it. She knows her body better than anyone I have ever met.
Keep praying……..keep writing………keep loving……..Terri