Aug 20th is always special to us since it was the day that Larry received his liver transplant and today he is the picture of health. He was living in the Sacramento, CA area at the time and was waiting for a transplant but his "meld score" was not high enough to be put at the top of the list. With liver patients, your "meld score" is based on how bad your liver is. However, on Aug 19th he took a turn for the worst, went to his doctor who immediately had him taken to the hospital in Sacramento and then transported via medical helicopter to the University of California San Francisco where he was taken right into surgery. The liver he got had become available and was intended for another patient but Larry was hours from death so they gave it to him. The other patient received her new liver the next day. Larry remembers going to the hospital in Sacramento and then doesn't remember anything else for several weeks. Today, according to the doctors, his liver is functioning perfectly. We also think of the family who lost a loved one that day and are grateful to them for choosing to donate so someone else could live. Larry doesn't know anything about the donor. He wrote a letter that was given to the family but they never responded which is not unusual. Some donor families want to know the recipient and other donor families prefer to not be reminded of their loss. This picture was taken at the bakery where we have breakfast after going to the Farmer's Market.
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