Update (by John)
(Post by John.)
I post on my Facebook more frequently, I had forgotten about Lois's LJ...so the story is this: Transplant from live donors has been ruled out, as it was decided that lobes would not suffice for Lois at this point, she is too weak; she needs whole lungs.
So we are waiting for a cadaver. If she doesn't get it soon, she will be dead. She is on an ECMO machine, which oxygenates her blood, and complications are beginning, slowly but surely, to arise.
This is the Channel 2 piece that was done on her (in Hebrew):
http://www.mako.co.il/news-channel2/Channel-2-Newscast/Article-aedddb348b2ed21004.htm
Here is the translation a friend wrote of what was said on the news:
Ella is a happy
27 year old, and next week she might die. That is the truth, and that is the grim
reality of those on the long organ donor waiting list. Despite the rising public
awareness, there are still very few donation. Mother: You're strong. I promise
you it will be OK. Narrator: There is a lot of love around 27 year old Ella
Pechony's bed. She had CF. She is unconscious and on an ECMO machine
since her lungs collapsed, but her relatives believe she can hear them. Mother:
I promise you that you can come home, and you can do everything. Ella has
fought this terrible disease, which kills most patients before the age of 40, all
her life. Fighting, and at the same time studying, getting married and
succeeding at everything. Narrator: Weren't you afraid of getting into a
relationship with someone who might die young? John: Maybe. I was inlove. I
still am. Ella's one chance of survival is a an urgent lung transplant from a
deceased who agreed to donate his or her organs. Prof. Mordechai Kremer,
lung unit manager: She is in a very critical state. Her lungs do not function at
all. We have about a week's window of opportunity in which, if a donor is found
that will give his lungs, we can save her. Narrator: And if that doesn't happen?
Prof: If that doesn't happen she will die. Narrator: Do you think she'll win?
Doctor Blau, Lung and CF unit manager at Schneider Hospital: Yes. Narrator:
But you're a bit teary eyed now. Doctor Blau: I'm teary eyed because I know the
clock is ticking. Narrator: Dr. Jonathan Cohen and the devoted tea at Beilinson
Hospital's ICU are keeping Ella alive in the hope of finding a lung donor. The
CF organization is outside, supporting the family. This is what these struggles
really look like. And they far too often fail. 70 Israelis are currently waiting for a
lung transplant. Unfortunately, about half of them will die, because there are
not enough donors. The Israelis have a big heart and they love helping - but
they draw the line at organ donations. Only 11% of the population have signed
organ-donor cards. Much less than in Europe. Prof: People don't donate. They
don't understand the importance of a donation. We don't have a solution for all
these patients. If we had a lung ten days ago, this patient would not be in this
situation. Narrator: Before we left, we asked Ella's relatives if they wanted us to
hide her face. They insisted we didn't, since it is important for them that we all
understand that behind the sad statistics of organ donors in Israel are people
who want to live.
I post on my Facebook more frequently, I had forgotten about Lois's LJ...so the story is this: Transplant from live donors has been ruled out, as it was decided that lobes would not suffice for Lois at this point, she is too weak; she needs whole lungs.
So we are waiting for a cadaver. If she doesn't get it soon, she will be dead. She is on an ECMO machine, which oxygenates her blood, and complications are beginning, slowly but surely, to arise.
This is the Channel 2 piece that was done on her (in Hebrew):
http://www.mako.co.il/news-channel2/Channel-2-Newscast/Article-aedddb348b2ed21004.htm
Here is the translation a friend wrote of what was said on the news:
Ella is a happy
27 year old, and next week she might die. That is the truth, and that is the grim
reality of those on the long organ donor waiting list. Despite the rising public
awareness, there are still very few donation. Mother: You're strong. I promise
you it will be OK. Narrator: There is a lot of love around 27 year old Ella
Pechony's bed. She had CF. She is unconscious and on an ECMO machine
since her lungs collapsed, but her relatives believe she can hear them. Mother:
I promise you that you can come home, and you can do everything. Ella has
fought this terrible disease, which kills most patients before the age of 40, all
her life. Fighting, and at the same time studying, getting married and
succeeding at everything. Narrator: Weren't you afraid of getting into a
relationship with someone who might die young? John: Maybe. I was inlove. I
still am. Ella's one chance of survival is a an urgent lung transplant from a
deceased who agreed to donate his or her organs. Prof. Mordechai Kremer,
lung unit manager: She is in a very critical state. Her lungs do not function at
all. We have about a week's window of opportunity in which, if a donor is found
that will give his lungs, we can save her. Narrator: And if that doesn't happen?
Prof: If that doesn't happen she will die. Narrator: Do you think she'll win?
Doctor Blau, Lung and CF unit manager at Schneider Hospital: Yes. Narrator:
But you're a bit teary eyed now. Doctor Blau: I'm teary eyed because I know the
clock is ticking. Narrator: Dr. Jonathan Cohen and the devoted tea at Beilinson
Hospital's ICU are keeping Ella alive in the hope of finding a lung donor. The
CF organization is outside, supporting the family. This is what these struggles
really look like. And they far too often fail. 70 Israelis are currently waiting for a
lung transplant. Unfortunately, about half of them will die, because there are
not enough donors. The Israelis have a big heart and they love helping - but
they draw the line at organ donations. Only 11% of the population have signed
organ-donor cards. Much less than in Europe. Prof: People don't donate. They
don't understand the importance of a donation. We don't have a solution for all
these patients. If we had a lung ten days ago, this patient would not be in this
situation. Narrator: Before we left, we asked Ella's relatives if they wanted us to
hide her face. They insisted we didn't, since it is important for them that we all
understand that behind the sad statistics of organ donors in Israel are people
who want to live.