This is a follow up to a request made by sssoul on this thread - [www.iorr.org] - to post this appeal as a separate topic to enable more people to see it.

To give you some background, Mary (Gottorollme) is a regular on Rocks Off, and lives in New Jersey. She's recently found out that she needs a liver transplant. Some of you may know her already as she was in Lisbon & Madrid with us for the Stones shows there in 2007. She's a terrific human being and a great friend, and we're posting this appeal on Rocks Off, Shidoobee, Gasland and IORR in the hope that someone can help.

This was the post she made on RO.




My Fellow Stones Fans,

This is not easy for me, but I'm at the point where I can't worry about being judged for something stupid I did almost 20 years ago.

I recently found out I have Hepatitis, and it's at the point now where I need to publicly solicit donors. If I can't find a compatible donor, chances are I'll have less than a year or two to live. I'm already on medication that is making me feel ill every day. The way a living donation works is they find a compatible donor (same blood type, body mass index, etc.) in good health and take a piece or "lobe" from their liver and transplant it. The liver actually regenerates and grows back to its original state within a few months.

They take the entire "bad" liver out of the recipient and replace it with this "lobe," and if I'm lucky my body won't reject it and I'd get to live a normal lifespan, albeit on regenerative drugs. I'd be ecstatic just to have another 10 years at this point. You see, I look after my mom, who is 88 years old. The thought of leaving her here alone is more than I can bear. Most of my family are gone, and the few who are left cannot care for her. I have no family I can solicit as donors either.

Last year, there were something like 6,500 transplants. There are currently 17,000 people on national waiting lists. I live in the New York area, so my chances of getting a compatible donor are slim to none. My blood type is O+. I'm asking everyone I know, because the more people who are aware of this, the better my chances are. Please don't turn this into a discussion thread. If you can help or know someone who can, PM me.

Here is a link explaining living liver donation:

[www.liverfoundation.org]

[www.livingdonorsonline.org]

Thanks to the mods for allowing me to make this public plea. If you know me personally, you know how hard it is for me to "go public" with this. I'm putting my faith in the Stones Community.


If you can help in any way, contact her at realcooltime@gmail.com

Thanks for reading, everyone.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-10-21 19:15 by Gazza.

thanks Gazza

that is so scary. I truly hope she can find a match. Is 0+ the rarest blood type? I forget. I know it's not mine, so i'm of no use.

Even if you can't help this lady, there is information on the above link to become an organ donor. Get on the bone marrow registry while you're at it!

O+ is the most common type worldwide, Cindy. 37.4% in the US and its usually first or second most common in most western countries.

With a compatible 'live' donor, they'll be able to go ahead and perform the surgery. Failing that, its a case of relying on waiting lists for the healthy liver from a deceased donor, and at present - as you can see from her post - there are about 3 people waiting on a transplant for every organ that's donated.

edit: what Gazza said. (i type too slow)

thanks again to sweetcharmedlife for pointing the situation out to us: [www.iorr.org]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-29 00:39 by with sssoul.

-



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012-10-04 19:32 by midnrambler.

So sorry to hear about Gottorollme's liver problem.
Unfortunately I'm AB negative - and my liver is of no use to her, and chances are I'd have been turned down because of my history with liver cancer.
I strongly support transplantation, also live liver transplant.

And I strongly advise midnrambler to remove his post. It's cold, shows lack of compassion and strikes a really negative vibe in me. This is inhuman.

All my best to Gottorollme, and I sincerely wish I could have helped. I'll keep my fingers crossed, and hope that you find a matching liver.

Well done Gazza

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

Quote
midnrambler
I find it very strange begging for an organ donation in public. Here in Germany only very close related persons are allowed as donors. Otherwise it would be suspected that the organ is paid for what is strictly prohibited. But in the USA they are obviously more broadminded. I would never post such a begging letter here, I think it's not the right place. Possibly I'm a bit more sensitive with this thing because I'm concerned myself, I am waiting for a kidney since almost 6 years now.

My apologies for wanting my friend to live and doing what I can to improve her chances. If it bothers you so much, its easy to avoid the thread. If you could take the time to read her post, shes asked for it not to turn into a discussion thread. It wouldnt kill you to extend that amount of courtesy, I'm sure.

My sincere good luck with the search for your donor, though. Its a horrible situation to have to live with.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-28 21:44 by Gazza.

Good luck

I forgot to say Well done to Gazza and with sssoul for reaching out to Gottolollme when she needs the concern from great friends the most.

It's quite painful to read that some people don't apreciate your effort... It says more about them than it does about you.
Thanks!

Quote
midnrambler
I would never post such a begging letter here, I think it's not the right place.

Desperate times call for desperate measures unfortunately. If this were a loved one of mine who's time is slipping away, the last thing I would care about is what some random person on the other side of the world, who I don't even know, thinks of me. It's not as though she's begging for money to help her out of a jam, this is her life. The more people that know, the better her chances for help are. This is a big Stones fan, one of us, let's cut her a break.

Best wishes for you in hopes that you get the kidney you've been waiting for. I'm sure that's been no picnic either, but hopefully, your prognosis is much better than Mary's seems to be.

This is absolutly the right place to post this threads. Nothing like gool old solidarity between fans.

Not the same blood type but I'll send an e-mail to all my contacts, sure some won't like it but the more that are aware of this, the chances of finding a donor increase.

Quote
midnrambler
I find it very strange begging for an organ donation in public. Here in Germany only very close related persons are allowed as donors. Otherwise it would be suspected that the organ is paid for what is strictly prohibited. But in the USA they are obviously more broadminded. I would never post such a begging letter here, I think it's not the right place. Possibly I'm a bit more sensitive with this thing because I'm concerned myself, I am waiting for a kidney since almost 6 years now.

Probably you missed the following sentence :

" If I can't find a compatible donor, chances are I'll have less than a year or two to live ".

Seems she can't wait 6 years. You understand ?

Post edited because of misunderstanding langage .



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-29 18:08 by SwayStones.

Its ok..she wasnt to know that. Thanks for all your nice comments.

Lets keep it on topic without it descending into the pros & cons of what to post & what not to post. Cheers, everyone.

May god & luck be with you Mary hope you don't have to wait too much longer
and also the same to midnrambler must be a harrowing time for the both of you ...



ROCKMAN

I propose to listen carefully to the request of the person involved in this hard situation. She asked literally this: "Please don't turn this into a discussion thread."

The least we can and even must do is doing what she's asking us by these words.

Very right kleermaker.
All my best wishes to midnrambler too.
I am so happy not being in the position that I need a transplant.

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

In the information area on the link above, it discusses what happens after the operation. It says the recovery is roughly 6 weeks. Is that for both the donor & recipient, or just the donor? Are there other risks for donors? I can look it up, of course, but thought if someone could post it here with a simplified answer it would be more helpful for everyone to read.

Thank you so much, Gazza, for posting this here, and to Bjornulf Vik for making it possible. I also want to thank with sssoul and all the other IORR members who've sent me positive prayers and messages. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and it doesn't get much more desperate than this. God bless you all.

------------------------------------------------------------------
"She delivers right on time,
I can't resist a corny line,
But take the shine right off your shoes"

....

"We are on human time. We are New York. A thoroughly human city. Diversity is our pride. Humanity is our duty - to offer one's hand, one's bread, one's prayer, and one's human love, with no distinction of faith, party or nationality." - p.s.

"...'til the wheels come off..."

Best wishes GTRM

Good luck GotToRollMe,I wish you all the best...I´d like to say something else,but it´s not more I can do,unfortunately.

I´ll think of you as well as of midnrambler.

I have had hepatitis. Mine was cured, thankfully, years ago, but my old liver won't help her. While I have no lingering health effects, I can't even give blood.

I write only to say what others have already said -- this woman is an ANGEL.

I won't go into the kindness she showed me as a (then) stranger, but I have come to know and respect this woman greatly. She has one of the biggest hearts in the Stones community. Please help her if you can.

Mary, if you're listening, please write, and know that I'm sending thoughts and prayers in your direction. One love, baby..

My liver's no good to you. The very best of luck to you.

Hey Mary,
Best of luck.

I will just quote what I wrote in the other thread :

Quote
SwayStones

Quote
sweetcharmedlife
The very nice GotToRollMe needs the help and support of the Stones fan community.[rocksoff.org]

I sincerely hope she'll find a donor soon .Must be difficult to live with a sword of Damocles on top of the head .Here in France we have 800 liver transplants per year .

and ,midnrambler ,I wish you all the best .Living on dialysis isn't an easy thing.

Good Luck to you with your search GTRM.
I used to be a blood donor years ago,but due to medication I no longer can do so.
My blood type is O resus negative,and my blood type is very usefull as it can be used as far as I am aware for all other types.
The drawback is that I can't have any other type but O neg.
So does the same rule apply with liver transplants.
Hope this of some use to you,take care.

Very best of luck to Gottorollme and midnrambler both.

Quote
CindyC
In the information area on the link above, it discusses what happens after the operation. It says the recovery is roughly 6 weeks. Is that for both the donor & recipient, or just the donor? Are there other risks for donors? I can look it up, of course, but thought if someone could post it here with a simplified answer it would be more helpful for everyone to read.

The recovery is roughly 6 weeks for the donor. And he or she puts themselves at a certain risk. Liver resection is a bit risky. The liver is a soft organ, with a high bleeding risk. But with catheters into the veins, quick and massive blood transfusions are possible, so the risk is not overwhelming. After a few months, the liver in the donor's body has grown back to it's normal size. We can actually manage with as little as down to 20 per cent of our original liver, in case one has to remove parts of it (cancer) or standing up as a donor.
The recipient has to be on drugs for the rest of his or her life to prevent the body from trying to get rid of the new organ, that the body usually sees as "alien". That's why the match in blood type and tissue is so important.
I hope this answers some of your questions.

And again: Good luck to Gottorollme! May the good lord shine a light on you.
With your positive attitude and fighting spirit - consider the battle half won already. You're never going to lose this battle, girl!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-29 12:52 by Addicted.