New Life

This is my friend "Olga" whom I have written about in previous posts. I thank all of you who have prayed for her as she has faced rapidly declining health in recent weeks. This picture was taken last month on the day that her friends moved her belongings out of her apartment and into our guestroom. I had made a big pot of curry and put out dinner for Sam and her son, who had just set up her computer in our downstairs room, when I had a very strong impression that I needed to go see her--IMMEDIATELY. I told Sam that I'd be back later and drove over to her apartment, about 9 miles away. Olga was on her bed, and her friends from the Romanian church were trying to help her get comfortable--rubbing her feet and hands. She told me that her kidneys were no longer working and she felt horrible. Her hands and feet had excruciating cramps, probably from her electrolyte imbalance. Olga was too tired to talk much, and was short of breath. I did manage to get this picture of her with me, and we chatted a few minutes before I prayed for her and her friends, and went back home.

I had such an ominous feeling when I saw her: gaunt in the face but bloated in her belly. "I look 10 months pregnant!" she'd exclaimed, looking down at her fluid filled belly.

That night she went into the hospital and has not come out since. After nearly dying in a Los Angeles hospital, she was stabilized and transferred over to UCLA, in the intensive care unit. She was immediately placed on a respirator and stabilized further. We've been able to go see her three times since she's been there, and each time it's been really hard. I can only imagine how her sons must feel. Her middle son has texted or called me every day to tell me how she is doing and to ask questions about medical things the nurses tell him.

During the time Olga has been at UCLA thus far, she has received eight offers for a liver. Each time, she would be told that there was a liver available, and that the doctors would be examining it to be sure it was "a good one." Based on that, they would get back with her. But in the meantime, her nurses would start her on a regimen of IV medications, pills, and blood product infusions in order to get her body at peak capacity for the 8-10 hour surgery required for a transplant. Seven times she learned that the liver wasn't good: fatty livers, too small, too large. Finally, she got her transplant last night. Her son sent me a text message at 2:30 this morning to tell me that she was in the ICU and doing very well. Today she is extremely stable, on a ventilator and mildly sedated. She is following commands and relaxed. She has the very best care there is for liver transplantation, I am convinced. Her surgeon wrote the textbook that all medical schools in the country use for transplantation education. Her nurses have been nothing short of angels, every one of them: so knowledgeable, personable, and accommodating. Since I am on the list of individuals who is allowed to have information about her condition, I have spoken to most of them over the last few weeks. They have all been wonderful to me, but more importantly, to Olga.

Tomorrow she has another short surgery to "clean her up inside" as the doctor explained it to her son. Apparently, transplantation is a two-stage process during which the liver is attached during the first surgery, and the bile duct and surgical debris is removed during the second surgery. So she has that in the morning.

Meanwhile, we are so very grateful to God for giving her this second chance at life.

Olga now legally resides here, even though she is in the hospital. I don't know if she will be allowed to convalesce here since we have a cat and two dogs. But if she is, we will have church ladies staying with her here around the clock, since I will be working and Sam will be involved in other things. Those Romanian ladies have been absolute saints: massaging her feet, cooking for her, cleaning her house, taking her to the doctor's office and hospital, running her erands and giving her money. I have never seen such wonderful friends before. It will be a real honor and blessing to us to have her--and her friends--with us.

It's a new life for Olga. We are grateful, and hopeful that her new liver will "take" and that she will have more good years ahead of her. That will by far, be a great miracle. Thank you again for your prayers. She still needs them, if you can remember to pray for her still.