Dear USGE family
As many of you know our dear colleague, Diane Leduc-Doran, has been off work on Disability leave since January 1, 2017, battling both Lyme Disease and a badly damaged liver which was attacked four years ago (probably by the Lyme Disease bacteria). Recently, her situation has become urgent, and we are looking for an immediate living or deceased liver donor through the University Health Network (Toronto General). Since 1999, over 700 living liver donor transplants have been performed at the University Health Network. All donors have returned to their regular lifestyle with no restrictions.
If anyone reading this meets the basic requirement and would consider becoming a living donor for Diane, please read on:
- Blood Type O
- Age 18-60
- In good health
- Willing to give freely
If you meet these basic criteria then the next step is to contact the Living Donor Office at the UNH at Toronto General Hospital ASAP and they will supply all the details, explain what is involved, answer questions and start the Application and Work Up Procedure. Time is of the essence.
The potential donor will need to fill in the Living Donor Health History Application Form and send it in – with proof of blood type – to the UHN (University Health Network) at TGH (Toronto General Hospital) http://www.uhn.ca/MOT/Living_Donor_Program. The address, email and fax number are on the Form. If you have any questions after you review this you can call the Living Donor Liver Office at Toronto General at 416-340-4800 Ext 6581.
We thank you so much for considering this and regardless of whether you can help, we ask for your positive thoughts and prayers for Diane and her family at this time.
If you want to send any kind of message of encouragement to her right now the best way to do that is by email – diane@choosetheblues.ca or snail mail:
3306 Yorks Corners Rd.
Kenmore, Ontario
K0A 2G0
Diane is really weakened right now so it is hard for her to talk on the phone for long. Her husband James is with her and her parents will be there soon and there is a good network of friends available to help right now. James will be keeping Stan and Jean-Yves (at USGE) updated on all developments as they occur.
Thank you all for your love, care and concern. It helps and Diane and James really appreciate it.
Please share this message far and wide
Best,
James, Diane’s husband
For more information on Diane’s situation, please see below:
Dear USGE family
As many of you know Diane Leduc-Doran has been off work on Disability leave since January 1st, 2017, battling both Lyme Disease and a badly damaged liver which was attacked four years ago (probably by the Lyme Disease bacteria). She had been making good headway and improvement in her condition from February through to late July. Many of you saw her Information Presentation on Lyme Disease at the AGM in Toronto in July and she looked good especially considering what she has been going through. That makes her recent relapse all the more disheartening.
Without knowing the cause, her liver disease symptoms returned with a vengeance in late July/early August:
chronic fatigue
yellow eyes and bad skin colour
severe cramping
Digestive problems
Itchiness all over her body (caused by the bile in her body not being processed properly by the liver) — especially at night when trying to get to sleep — so she has not getting much sleep over several weeks — a few interrupted hours a night.
Stomach bloating and water retention problems
These problems increased into September especially over the last couple of weeks — exacerbated by the lack of sleep. She could barely get off the couch over this period.
She had a pre-scheduled appointment at the UHN Transplant Clinic at the Toronto General Hosptial for Sept 27th (Diane went through the pre-screening process for a Liver Transplant over a year ago and has been on the List since) so she was trying to hold on until then. On Sept 25 she had her blood work done in anticipation of the visit to the Transplant Clinic. When the Transplant doctors saw the results they called her immediately and told her to check into Emergency at the Ottawa General immediately. In particular her sodium level was dangerously low — 119. Any lower and she was at risk of a seizure. Normal range is 130 to 145.
Her MELD score had soared to 26. MELD is a scoring system that assesses the severety of chronic liver disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_for_End-Stage_… A score of 15 or more and you are a candidate for a transplant. She had been as high as 19 in the past but dropped to 11-13 when her health improved as the Lyme Disease was being treated over the winter/spring.
At MELD 26 she moved to the top of the Transplant List immediately — by Living Donor or Deceased Donor — whichever comes first.
She was in hosptial for two days this week during which time they did extensive testing — multiple blood work draws, MRI, etc. The good news is that her kidneys are still in good shape (very important for a transplant). Her blood pressure is a bit low but not too bad. Heart is strong. No sign of internal infection which is good. Her overall health is actually quite remarkable considering what she is going through with the diseased liver. But that can’t hold up indefinitely. And she is weak.
Her Liver Specialist at the OGH and the Transplant Clinic in Toronto have been kept informed. After all the tests were completed there was nothing further they could do at the Ottawa General and she was discharged last night Sept 28 and is at home resting. She has had to go back on the drug prednisone unfortunately — it is a powerful immune suppressant with significant adverse effects. And it is major immunosuppressant which is the worst thing for a Lyme Disease sufferer — you want the immune system to be boosted to fight LD! So it is a Catch-22.
Her Specialist Dr. Shaw-Stiffel is seeing her Oct 3. She has more blood work scheduled for Oct 2. The key now is to see if the sodium level has climbed back up. It has to be at 125 or higher before they will do a Transplant.
If anyone reading this meets the basic requirement and would CONSIDER BECOMING A LIVING DONOR FOR DIANE please read on:
Blood Type O
Age 18-60
In good health
If you meet this basic criteria then the next step is to contact the Living Donor Office at the UNH at Toronto General Hospital ASAP and they will supply all the details, explain what is involved, answer questions and start the Application and Work Up Procedure. Time is of the essence.
The potential donor will need to fill in the LIVING DONOR HEALTH HISTORY APPLICATION FORM and send it in – with proof of blood type – to the UHN (University Health Network) at TGH (Toronto General Hospital) http://www.uhn.ca/MOT/Living_Donor_Program. The address, email and fax number are on the form. If you have any questions after you review this you can call the Living Donor Liver Office at Toronto General at 416-340-4800 Ext 6581.
We also ask for your positive thoughts and prayers for Diane and her family at this time.
If you want to send any kind of message of encouragement to her right now the best way to do that is by email — diane@choosetheblues.ca or snail mail:
3306 Yorks Corners Rd.
Kenmore, Ontario
K0A 2G0
She is really weakened right now so it is hard for her to talk on the phone for long. Her husband James is with her and her parents will be there soon and there is a good network of friends available to help right now. James will be keeping Stan and Jean-Yves updated on all developments as they occur.
Thank you all for your love, care and concern. It helps and Diane and James really appreciate it.
Best,
James (Diane’s husband)