The Call May Come Sooner After Tomorrow

I’m not jumping at every phone ring anymore, but I still get panicky at every Pennsylvania area code.  The other day my phone rang once then hung up which did make me a little nervous at first.  I immediately did a reverse look up of the number & it turns out it was a sales call. More proof that the Do Not Call list is not very effective.

I then asked my team (by sending a message through the online portal) if they have a certain number they make transplant calls from so I could set a special ring tone for it, but they don’t.  They did like the idea though.

I suppose I could carry an extra phone, but I don’t see much sense in that expense or convenience wise.

After tomorrow, my chances for calls will go up a bit I think.  I have a meeting I have to attend that’s a mandatory lecture given by one of the transplant surgeons on the high risk donor pool.  It will be interesting. Afterwards, I’ll sign the consents to get those calls on top of standard donor calls.

I know several transplantees who accepted “high risk” organs & have done fine.  It doesn’t mean what people think it means.  It just means that the person may be exposed to certain illnesses or viruses that I as a recipient wouldn’t normally be (because of substance abuse or imprisonment for example).

The actual transmission likelihood is very low as they do extensive testing but still…they have to let you know & a consent must be signed.

This seems like a worthwhile gamble. I don’t intend to die on the list or die waiting but there is always the potential of that the longer the wait. My wait time is relatively short compared to others (around 6 months) but I’ll take the best shot I can get, “high risk” or not.

I don’t have to accept if I don’t like the history they give me when they call (even after signing the consent). The final decision rests with me. Refusing a high risk donor wouldn’t cause me to lose my spot on the list.

After I get back from Philadelphia I’ll see if I can catch the season premiere of Heartbeat somewhere.  This new series is actually loosely based on the life of a heart transplant surgeon. It at least looks interesting. Kind of curious to see how faithful they are to bringing a slice of “transplant world” to the living rooms of America.

I’m sure I’ll have plenty to blog about for a few days between the meeting & this show if I can tune in.

It’s a medical drama so I know off the top they’ll take some liberties but hopefully it will be well researched & they won’t perpetuate any myths.  Everyone knows if it does, I’ll have something to say about it (as usual) as I am a true believer in myth busting.  See my House of Cards post for evidence — but only if you’ve finished the series & missed seeing it when I posted.)

I don’t get cable anymore so I have to see if I can get an NBC app or view it online somewhere or if after a point they’ll bring it to Hulu or Netflix.