Home

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Mom's Story, by Rommel

• Mon, October 18, 1999      

  The following is courtesy of  Del Faustino:   "By 11:00 p.m., one of the surgeons came out to announce to the family that the liver has arrived and that they have transplanted it to T. Carmen.  They were attaching the bile duct system at that time.  Everything seemed positive at that time with regards to how smoothly the operation was proceeding.  She was still not out of the woods.  By 1:00 a.m., the chief surgeon of the team Dr. Oloff came out to tell the family that the surgery has been completed. She has a lot of swelling and they could only close the skin but not the muscle tissues, so they will have to come back again to do that in a few days.
  The operation was "pretty straight-forward" and there were no complications during the surgery.  Her blood pressure is better, her intracranial pressure went down, she is on a ventilator, she might undergo dialysis later.  She is still not producing urine at that time.  They do not know for sure whether the liver will work. They will monitor that by liver function tests from blood work.  She may have a number of complications but it is still too early to find out.  She needs to wake up first and that is expected later Monday afternoon or early Tuesday. She is still very fragile, and things may change again drastically according to the doctor.  So keep praying."

  7:30pm Rommel called to give us the latest news.   So far so good.  Carmen is doing well.  Her lungs are okay, and her intra-cranial pressure is no longer a problem.  The doctors say that she is doing the best we can hope for and that they don't expect a downturn.  However, her kidneys still aren't working -- she still isn't producing any urine.  She is on dialysis right now, and they hope that this will help clean out the toxins.  The doctors expect that when the liver starts working in full gear, her kidneys will also be back online.  It appears that the donated liver came at the nick of time, because her kidneys were failing and she was getting steadily worse.  They are worried about her too-low blood pressure, but they are controlling this with an IV drip adjusted to her rising and falling blood pressure.  The best news is that this morning, she responded to words spoken to her.  Her heart rate increased when she was stroked or when someone spoke to her!  This is a good sign that she may not have suffered any neurological damage.  Assessing brain damage takes time, so we won't know for a while.  We will know a lot more when she awakes, but that is not expected until tomorrow.

  This is good news, but the doctors also caution that there are still could die from this.  Please keep praying.  The Lord has been listening.
  
  

• Sun, October 17, 1999 Everyone gets a wake up call from Rommel at 7:15 that morning. At the hospital, we are told that she now needs the dreaded intra-cranial pressure measuring tube inserted into her skull. To do this, the doctors need to drill a 3mm hole in her brain to insert a tube that measures the swelling of the brain stem. The family is distraught at the thought of this invasive procedure. The risks are that she could die from hemorrhaging, or a blood clot that lodges in her brain. However, she needs this as a preparation for the transplant. It also guides the doctors during the transplant. After much deliberation, and consulting with Dr, Orloff, the transplant surgeon, the consent form is signed, despite the fact that a liver may not be produced in time. Her liver is now completely failed.

  However, the doctor is very optimistic about Carmen's chances of surviving a liver transplant to live a normal life. She has been healthy prior to the incident and so her chances are 60-70% if a liver is found soon.

At 1 o'clock, Dr. Orloff, the transplant surgeon informs Rommel and Caroline that a liver has been found! It is a healthy liver. It's only defect is some benign congenital cysts, which will have no bearing on its performance. The liver will arrive at 10pm EST from Washington D.C.. They will remove her own liver at 3pm because it is releasing toxins that are harmful to her. By this time, her intra-cranial pressure (ICP) is rising dangerously, and so now her chances of surviving the transplant are only 20%. Still, removing her failed liver should prevent the ICP number from rising.

The family is overjoyed! There are still many risks: neurological damage, hemorrhaging (uncontrollable bleeding), kidney failure, liver failure, rejection, but everyone is hopeful. Everyone, please pray for a successful operation.

• Sat, October 16, 1999 Rommel and Caroline and Ron and Cynthia arrive in Rochester first, at 3:30am. They were told that she had only hours until she went into toxic shock, so they left immediately.  Candy and Martin arrive next. They are told that the most likely cause is a mushroom called the "Death Cap". It only grows in October. In fact, the hospital has seen similar cases before, in the same month, and they are sure this is the cause of her hepatitis. Nothing else has the same devastating effect to a liver.

  That afternoon, everyone is at the hospital. Angelique and Bart arrive later that afternoon. Carmen is lucid, and is conversing energetically with family and hospital staff. The prognosis is good, and everyone is hopeful because a few people have survived the toxins of the mushrooms, and since Carmen has not gone into toxic shock (indeed, the fact that she is lucid is remarkable), the staff is confident that she will fully recover. The family is in good spirits.

  By 5 o'clock, her condition begins to deteriorate. She is weaker, and the tests have come back with poor results. Her liver is shutting down. The doctors say that there is a chance that she will still pull through, but a liver transplant is becoming more of a possibility.

  Later on, Carmen is having trouble breathing. Her lungs are filling up with fluid. The good news is that her heart is pumping harder to compensate, but the bad news is that her body doesn't need the extra effort this requires. The doctors decide to put her on a respirator to help her breathe. The family is called in to see her one last time before she is intubated. The tubes will not allow her to speak. It is an emotional scene. Everyone is aware that these may be the last words they hear from her, and the last words she hears from them. She is expected to go into a coma in a few hours, so everyone is very afraid. Carmen's words before being intubated were, "Love each other." And, to Candy, who was sobbing uncontrollably, "Calm down." The family leaves Jim to be alone with her for a few moments.

  Once she is intubated, she is breathing regularly. She is initiating the breaths; the machine is only filling her lungs at each breath. The night vigil is grim. No one, not even the hospital staff, thought this sudden downturn was likely. Carmen is sedated. The main worry is that there will be intra-cranial swelling that will cause neurological damage. The family is worried about her comfort, as there are tubes inserted everywhere, some to draw blood from her every few hours. At this point, her liver is losing clotting factors, and this is a very serious thing.

  Bert, Passy, and Maritess Santos arrive close to midnight. Their arrival is especially welcomed because they are able to lend perspective with their medical expertise.

  Carmen sleeps, and the family retires to hotel rooms near the hospital.
  
  

• Fri, October 15, 1999 Carmen is transferred to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, by helicopter. Her family is notified. They are told that she has 7 days to live most probably due to the toxins from a mushroom that she ate. A single mushroom is enough to produce a fatal response.
  
  

• Thu, October 14, 1999 She is taken to a hospital in Medina, a very small town near the farm. They diagnose acute hepatitis, but the cause is not known.
  
  

• Wed, October 13, 1999 She still feels ill, but she attends a luncheon. There, she can hardly keep awake. Later that afternoon, she suffers from diarrhea.
  
  

• Tue, October 12, 1999 Carmen picks some mushrooms growing around the farm and cooks them as a meal for herself. Jim isn't partial to mushrooms, so she also cooks some soup for him, including only a few mushrooms in the soup. That night she begins to feel ill, as if she was coming down with the flu.