Article Contributed on: 6/7/2007 10:13:29 PM
Pam Macy discovered she had an autoimmune liver disease after her prenuptial blood test revealed an abnormal liver function in 1977. The Evergreen mother of four said, "I have always thought of myself as healthy and active, I thought, so what, no big deal. But rather than something that would go away, ultimately I needed a liver transplant."
Macy said she only had to wait about six months for a liver, which she considered not long compared to those who wait much longer for an organ, and may even die waiting.
"My understanding is if everyone who was an appropriate candidate, donated, I do believe there would be enough organs for those in need."
Thirteen years after her liver transplant, (1990) with a growing family that included a 5- and 7-year old and husband,
Mark, Macy was the recipient of a liver from a 55-year-old woman who died of a blood clot to her brain.
"The surgeon told me my liver was worse than he thought and that I might not have lived another month," she said.
On June 3 she said, "I recently celebrated the 17th year of my liver transplant," adding, "This fall will be the fifth year for my kidney, which came from my brother."
"My brother said he could and would donate his kidney." She was moved when she recalled her other siblings all said they would do the same.
"Typically donors don't have an issue. My brother now has one good kidney and I have one good kidney," she said.
Macy said she needed the kidney transplant because the immunosuppresant drugs she's taken as a liver recipient were toxic to her kidneys.
"The drugs are stressful to the kidneys. It's not unusual for a recipient to take more than one immunosuppresant drug. It was more important to preserve the liver. It's a balancing act"
Macy recalled days when her children were tots. " I can't imagine not being here for them. It's part of the reason I wanted to do foster care."
Since her first transplant, and after the birth of their first child,
Travis, Macy and her husband became foster parents.
She said," I had always thought being a foster parent was something I wanted to do. When you take on things like that, you end up being enriched when originally you are trying to help someone."
She worked as a volunteer for Transplant Council of the Rockies and founded a speakers bureau to help spread the word about the need for people to donate their organs. She said, "The biggest issue is all the people who die while they on on the waiting list."
She credited
Donor Alliance and University Hospital for their work in the effort to educate people. "University Hospital deserves credit for maintaining me in such a healthy state," she said. She takes pills and monitors blood pressure, but these are what she called secondary issues.
"I don't look at it as a big hardship," she said.
After her friend died while waiting for a second lung transplant, she stepped back from the speakers bureau. " I do the
Donor Dash, thats a big fundraiser. It's definitely an issue I feel connected to."
She said people often have mistaken ideas about what it means to be brain dead, or think everything won't be done to save their life.
She said, "The biggest myth is that the doctors are like vultures ready to come down on a patient before performing lifesaving measures."
What Donor Awareness and Donor Alliance do is educate people. She said asking a family to donate a loved one's organs is a delicate situation.
"The manner in which that's done affects the outcome, especially if you haven't thought about it before. The driver's license is so helpful because you know they thought about and it's what they wanted. You can honor their wishes."
Macy reflected on her life and said she feels very lucky. "I have this great life I wouldn't have otherwise. There is a tiny part of you that's scared. People need to think about how they can save people," she said.