Monday, November 28, 2005
This evening Jim’s dad and I went to the transplant support group meeting at Mission Hospital. It was informative and helpful and interesting. There were folks who had had transplants at UCLA and folks who are trying to get on the list. We talked about medications and where to eat in Westwood and organ rejection [...]
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
This evening as Dr. Ardehali laid out all the details about the transplant he made a point of telling Jim that it is okay to look at other programs and even get listed with multiple hospitals. He had noted that Jim was considering Cedars-Sinai. So it was impossible to avoid the question of why he [...]
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
The meeting with Dr. Ardehali, transplant surgeon, went very well, and we expect Jim to be on the official UCLA transplant list on December 1st. Dr. Ardehali told Jim that a lung transplant is the most difficult operation that he will ever have; it is more difficult than a heart transplant or even a heart-lung [...]
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
The cardiac test went well, so we think that the issue of Jim’s heart is behind us now. This is good news, very good news. We’re so relieved. Dr. Lynch also saw Jim today and is ready to recommend him for the transplant wait list. He said that Jim’s last pulmonary function test results were [...]
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Jim and I will be at UCLA all day today. First he’ll have a cardiac test, which we understand will be his last before a decision on his heart is reached. Then he’ll see Dr. Lynch for the last time before the big decision is made. And then he will meet Dr. Ardehali who will [...]
Sunday, November 20, 2005
I can’t seem to read the papers lately without stumbling upon controversies surrounding transplant programs. This one involves the chief of the lung transplant program at Loyola taking nearly the entire team to the University of Chicago. The U of C could not be more pleased because lung transplants are lucrative business. It’s certainly a [...]
Friday, November 18, 2005
Today on Democracy Now they had a big debate about Wal-Mart, so Jim’s film was referenced repeatedly. And yes, as a matter of fact, we do call it Jim’s film. Other people refer to it as Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. The film has recently been the source of numerous articles and television [...]
Friday, November 18, 2005
Brace yourself for a cliché. Here it comes. Laughter is the best medicine. Just writing that kind of cracked me up. While we’re hanging out waiting for the next round of doctor appointments we could use some comedic relief. How about posting a joke in the comments section? Keep it clean because there are a [...]
Monday, November 14, 2005
Jim saw his transplant doctor, Dr. Lynch, at UCLA today. It was a long day of sitting in waiting rooms. The question of his heart condition remains open until he sees the cardiologist again on Wednesday November 23. That’s the day before Thanksgiving and it’s going to be a big day. First he’ll see the [...]
Sunday, November 13, 2005
This is the fourth in a series of articles about the UC Irvine liver transplant scandal.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
This is the third is a series of LA Times articles about the liver transplant scandal at the University of California at Irvine. UCI is just a few miles from us and is where Jim’s dad got his undergraduate degree in math. A couple of things caught my attention while reading this article this morning. [...]
Friday, November 11, 2005
Yesterday we met with the transplant social worker and learned a number of things about the process. She asked Jim questions about where he is living now and how the disease is impacting his life. Then she asked a few questions related to his dad and me to determine if we were capable of caring [...]
Thursday, November 10, 2005
I’ve tried a dozen different ways to write this post and they are all coming out convoluted and fuzzy. So I’m just going to tell the UCLA story as I understand it and not sugar coat it or add any diplomatic touches. I’m sure that Jim and Jim will add their comments to this post [...]
Jim has an appointment next Thursday with Dr Lynch at UCLA and Maggie has been calling UCLA to find out if Jim needs any more tests (we hope all the tests have been taken already). Things are not moving as fast as we would like. Yet, we are hopeful that we get out some good [...]
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
It’s been three months since Jim told us that there was something wrong with his lungs and he is still not on the transplant waiting list. Cedars-Sinai is done with the tests that it needed. UCLA has been reviewing his charts since October 20th to determine whether he needs additional testing before they will put [...]
