"I contacted UAB here in Birmingham procured the name of a liver specialist and had my sil give it to the doctor and asked him to call to have her moved. Supposedly he did call and they said our hospital was doing nothing different than they would."
First, let me say, my husband had his liver transplant at age 66. The lesson to learn here is just because someone says something like ""she is not eligible for transplant because of her age" does NOT necessarily make it true. Your MIL will need to go through an extensive evaluation process with the UAB Liver Transplant Center team. They and they alone will decide whether she is eligible for listing on the transplant list or not. This decision will be based on her full medical condition.
As a matter of published fact on the UAB report filed with the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients for the year
07/01/2012-06/30/2013, shows that over 15% of the new waitlist
registrations were 65 and older.
Go to this link:
http://www.srtr.org/csr/current/Centers/201402_1401/pdf/ALUATX1LI201402_1401PSR_P.pdf
(See Table 2 on page 7 of the report.)
If I were you, I would contact the liver team at UAB directly and speak to them about their referral process. Stress the urgency of the situation and that you would like her transferred to UAB as soon as possible.
Your mother in law is entitled to copies of all of her medical records. Is there someone who is her legal representative? Given her condition, she may not be able to sign an informed request. Her representative should take care of this immediately with the records dept of the hospital where she is.
The most important thing is to have her moved asap to UAB for that evaluation.
Please keep us posted. There are many here who can continue to give your support and advice based on personal experience.
Nan
Don't just walk to the nearest door, run. This Dr is a joke. You have been given bad advice. Find a hepatologist in your area that has a good background or following. Go on line and read patients comments. Your moms condition is treatable. You say your mom is not much of a drinker so you need to find the source of her cirrhosis. I don't know the extent of her cancer status but if stable and she is in good health a transplant is not out of her reach. If it is not an option, there are meds she can take for her symptoms, and they can then be manageable. I am also a cancer survivor with liver disease. I live a very active, healthy life. I'm truly sorry that her doctors have mismanaged her disease. All medical records do belong to the patient and from what you have described this is totally absurd. No one deserves to be treated as such. Be proactive and you will get results. Good luck and should you need further help we will be here for you. Kim
Thank you for your comfort and prayers. We do need them - but I think an honest answer from the doctor or ability to get her help if that's possible.
We did not even know she had cirrhosis until her surgery to remove cancer mass. There has been apparent family liver issues. She is not a heavy drinker my only guess is it was inherited OR all of the meds her primary had her on treating all of the systems of the cancer.........this cancer had been growing for several years without any word or follow up from her physician. They indicated her liver test did not show issues.
I asked week three into this and I was told by the RN she was not a candidate for transplant due to her age.....she is 64. I said what about the care of a liver specialist (we have asked this several times and we really get shunned so we don't know if he is 'too proud' or what we just do not understand. She was in what I would say was good health had a lot of complaints of pain or issues but lead a normal lifestyle.
I'm so sorry what you are going trew this is a terrible disease to have Its good she has you I hope you are taking care of yourself have they mention if she could be put on a transplant list how old is she and where did the cirrhosis come from I will keep you in my prayers