A Gift of Life ~ Written by Dad

I turned 51 last May with a very uncertain prognosis for my End Stage Liver Disease. The only treatment available is a transplant from either a deceased donor or a living donor. Preparation for the transplant is very simple. Patience, lot of it, physically there is not much you can do as your condition is getting worse as days pass by. Since I was placed in the waiting list, I have had two failed living donor attempts, and two from a deceased donor. It was not God’s time. The living donor has shaken every fiber of my heart and mind. I was blessed with decisions of my sister Lizzette and then my daughter Gloria to go thru the extensive testing trying to give me the needed liver part. Lizzette had a fatty liver that was detected at the final steps of the testing. She surprised everyone in the Hospital with her enthusiasm for the very difficult act. The thing was that they did not know her and her big heart.

Gloria stepped in and began the battery of test to find out if she was fit to do the procedure. They gave her the green light and set up the surgery date. I find it difficult even now, to explain how God has become even more real and true in my life as the date of surgery rapidly approached us. I started to pray not for me but for my Glorita. She was exercising, dieting and comforting us. The big day came and we were prepped side by side. As per protocol, Gloria was taken first to the surgery room, and my doctor said that he will return in an hour to start my procedure. Three hours elapsed and despite the heavy load of narcotics I started inquiring about her. Doctor came to us and told us that she also had a fatty liver, and her liver was borderline small for me. They decided not to continue with the procedure and we were taken to different rooms. She went to recovery and I could not see her until two days later. I was very thankful for the fact that she was not placed in jeopardy.

After this failed surgery attempt last year, I received a call at 1:00 AM asking me to be ready for a patient involved in an accident. The doctor gave some instructions and asked me to wait for a call. I got ready and woke everyone up in the house and kept getting calls from different doctors to answer questions. At 4:30 AM, they told me that everything looked OK and I had my bag packed and ready to hit the road as soon as they said go. At 5:00 A.M. another call, informing me that there may be a problem with the donor’s liver. “We will call you very soon.” 5:30 AM they called us to cancel as the liver got damaged in the accident. You couldn’t even inmage what may have been going thru my head. I spent the following weeks sleeping only few hours in the day time and making sure the phone was functioning through the nights. We received a second call almost six months later, and the worst part was that I was in Nicaragua and I would not be able to accept the liver. Three months later after this call, we found out that it was also a failed attempt and that the liver wouldn’t have worked for me anyways.

I know now what patience means, and also amazed at God’s timing in answering our prayers. In this year I have been in the Hospital seven times for a colic pain in the liver area. After prophylactic IV antibiotics, morphine, and fluid replacement usually the pain subsides or it gets more tolerable for me to go home. I have stones and sluggish discharge of the gall bladder that gave this incredible pain. I usually do not mention the other discomforts associated with it such as nausea, vomiting, feverish, chills, and signs of encephalopathy as they can be tolerated or controlled.
Nowadays, surgery is set for September 28, Tatiana went to the donor fit test that included the biopsy and we are in God’s hands.

I was born in Chinandega; Nicaragua grew up in a very loving and faithful environment. My parents, both living in California, Gloria and Jose plus seven sisters: Lorena, Maria Elena, Gloria, Lizzette, Maggie, Ana Christian, and Adela Vanessa. I have been married for 32 years to Iracema, in whom I found and recognize the perfect partner that God in his Grace and Love gave to me. We have four children: Gloria, Tatiana, Jose Rey, and Yanina.