Doctors told Janet Hong that she would not live another year without a living donor liver transplant, but the surgery was successful and she is now recovering.
Janet Hong, of Maddox Cove, said she was touched by the people trying to help her and said she now considers her donor family.
“There's incredible compassion in humanity and I've seen it all this year. It's been so good that I cry almost every day,” Hong, who is currently recuperating in Edmonton, told CBC. told the radio. St. John's Morning Show.
Hong had been living with an autoimmune liver disease for years and was in need of a living liver donor.
Carlene Paquette of Ottawa stepped in to help.
Hong said, “It's a new life.'' “Thanks to Carlene's liver, I now have every opportunity to walk, exercise, and lift weights.”
Paquette contacted Hong in July and asked if he could submit a donor application. Hong said they both participate in an online community of mutual friends, where they share uplifting stories.
Puckett was also a source of encouragement when Hong was feeling nervous about the transplant, which took place in September, she said.
“I couldn't have asked for a better donor,” Hong said.
She said she underwent a month-long medical follow-up with liver specialist Dr Mamata Bhat on her 57th birthday in October.
friend in trouble
Hong was diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis at the age of 29. This is an autoimmune disease of the liver in which the bile ducts become inflamed and destroyed. Doctors gave her two years to live.
At the age of 56, he was told that he needed a living donor liver transplant or he would not live another year. As his disease progressed, he developed further pulmonary complications and required constant use of oxygen.
Mr. Hong first spoke. CBC News this summer About the need for a liver transplant. After the story was shared, she said, hundreds of people contacted Toronto's Ajmera Transplant Center to become her donor. In the end, 48 people were shortlisted.
In August, she left the province for further treatment in Toronto, but said she needed a lot of help getting on a plane. She estimated that she used three or four oxygen cylinders during the flight.
“It was time to go there. At that time, we knew we had to leave Newfoundland to get to Toronto, so we were lucky,” Hong said.
While in Toronto, she continued to take oxygen and said she hoped to find a mate.
Hong said she was confident a donor would be found. Then Paquette contacted me with some life-saving news.
“It happened incredibly quickly,” Hong said.
“It was unbelievable. And you know, I cried a lot because I felt the magnitude of the love, care, compassion and everything that was showered on me and my family.”
Future travel plans
Two days after the surgery, Hong said hospital staff helped her get up and walk. She said she is on new medication and is in regular contact with Paquette every few days.
“She will always be a part of my family, of course. And what a kind heart,” Hong said. “She is a beautiful person.”
For now, Hong remains in Edmonton under medical orders not to travel until he recovers. She said she hopes to return to Newfoundland soon and has several other destinations on her itinerary once her health is good.
“I'd love to go back to my property in Florida. That would be great,” she said.
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