General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: ****WCGreen Update --Wednesday April 16, 2014**** [View all]pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Because in the end, my friend died and I didn't want to have to say that and be a downer.
But his transplant gave him 8 more years of life (which may have been a record then).
I drove from my home in VA to pick him up in MD and take him back to the hospital in VA for his appointments pre- and post-transplant, and I had an inkling of what a rigorous ordeal that was for him.
He didn't want me to see him going through his PT, so he'd send me down to the lobby and the gift shop--where I'd buy Junior Mints for a treat while I read my book.
Post-transplant, he joked about his "moonface"--the puffing of his face caused by the steroid drugs he was on to prevent transplant rejection.
He really got a kick out of it when I sent him a birthday card I'd made--with a flattened Junior Mints box in it and some stupid words I wrote.
We stayed in touch after I moved to the West Coast, and the last phone call I got was about him planning to come out for a visit.
In the end, he died--as we all do. But for my friend that transplant was a lifesaver that gave him extra years that I will never regret.
R.I.P. Rod Kane, Vietnam veteran, Army combat medic, author, friend.