As Things Progress

Posted – 12/02/2006 : 1:00:16 PM
Greetings! During these past days we have met with a thoracic surgeon and a lung transplant doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. They were both very helpful, supportive and informative. At this point, another lung transplant is what Amber needs. Although there exist several different procedures to try and stop the process of rejection, some are not very effective, some are considered experimental, and some are not appropriate for Amber since her rejection is severe and her lung capacity is so low. The process of a retransplantation is very difficult and there are only a few centers in the country that have much experience doing it. Laurie is a fierce mother bear and is tracking down all possible opportunities for retransplantation. You can imagine this is a very involved process. It requires identifying the potential lung transplant centers and surgeons who are experienced and do retransplantations, contacting them, corresponding with them regarding Amber’s medical history, making a case for Amber, trying to schedule appointments, travel arrangements, insurance protocol and more. We hope to have something lined up by next week, at least for an evaluation for a retransplantation. In the meantime, Amber is working very hard. She is a fighter, we all know that, and it’s taking everything she has to stay strong and positive. Her body is giving her the type of challenge that none of us could imagine enduring, yet she is facing it, with all of us behind her. The power of love is incredible.