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Hi. My name is
Laurie. This is the true story of my Living Liver Donation and
Liver Transplant into my cousin. The purpose of this story is to
raise awareness about the procedure, its potential risks and to help
people who are thinking about donating to make an informed decision.
This site became necessary due to the poor quality of care I
received at New York University Hospital after the surgery.
My surgery was lead by
Dr. Lewis Teperman. Since the hospital and
Lewis W. Teperman, M.D.'s position is that "We did nothing
wrong", I hope by making my story public the doctors and hospital
will be compelled to:
1) Take responsibility for their actions.
2) Make all the necessary changes to the NYU Living Liver Donor
Program to ensure no donor has to go through what I did.
3) Never forget that they mistreated me.
4) Remember that the Donor is their patient too and deserves to be
treated with care.
The website is entitled as it is because my experience WAS a
nightmare, but I do NOT want your Liver Donation to be. I want
you to learn what to ask and what to look for and
what NOT to tolerate. I am compiling tips to help potential
donors.
View Tips.
All living donors are doing an extraordinary thing. Be
proud of yourself. Accept the accolades that undoubtedly will come
your way. But also be careful, be informed and be prepared.
You could end up with permanent
physical issues like me. I wish you all the best.
During my ordeal, I kept a journal. My better half suggested it
as a way of venting my frustrations. This website is laid out as I
wrote in my journal; The date followed by the events. I have added
comments of descriptions where appropriate. These comments are
formatted as below:
Text in
green can be clicked on to get a definition for the word.
This is my story. I was 34 years old at the time of my surgery. I
am a gym instructor and an athlete. A family member was in
need of a liver. I thought I could help. I offered to be
a donor. I was healthy, had no children, and worked a stable
job where I could be gone for a month with proper arrangements.
When I got the call that they needed me, I discussed it at length
with my better half, known here as B, and although he hated the idea
("are you crazy? you're volunteering to be cut open?"), we agreed to
face the challenge together. I began testing soon after.
I had my surgery August 8, 2000 in New York City at NYU
Hospital.
Ironically, This major New York City hospital proclaims itself
"One of World's premier academic medical institutions for more than
155 years, NYU Medical Center continues to be a leader in patient
care...". If only it were true.
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