The Scrabble Genius

It's been a rough few days for Michelle in terms of pain. Last night a trip to the ER was in order, as I could hear the anxiety in her voice; this pain was new and unrelenting. I'm sad to report, great success was not achieved in controlling her pain, nor were the staff able to pin point the exact cause of the pain. I must say though, after 3 rounds of pain meds and some intervenous gravol, Michelle still kicked my butt in Scrabble!

Michelle was back at the hospital this am as per the night docs instruction for an ultrasound. At this point she is no farther ahead in finding relief. The pain is incredible, her abdomen feeling full and clenched in spasm, accompanied with fever, and today the addition of a migraine. She is scheduled for banding surgery tomorrow, as well as an appointment with her specialist to review her current symptoms.

Please pray for Michelle to find relief from her discomfort, and that her doctors will have the wisdom to diagnose the issue and keep her safe while she waits for a new liver. Mama bear is coming out tomorrow to be with Michelle while a little extra support and TLC is needed. Looking forward to seeing you J, safe travels : )

Tracey

Second Opinions

After a gut wrenching phone call with the BC Transplant Team, Michelle's live-donor surgery is on hold, and it seems she may have been bumped down the list for a cadaver liver. Of course if there are others worse off, then it is understandable that they are higher on the list. What makes it hard is Michelle has Miss M pleading by her side to get on with the live donor surgery...
Michelle's heart has been breaking and her anxiety levels are high.

So you may have noticed I've been away from the bloggy world. Well we've been working on a few things. Michelle's specialist and her family doctor have both given their full support and encouragement in her being referred to the Toronto Transplant Clinic! She has been working on a letter to attach with her doctor's referral. The letter has been bounced between her 2 editors (her mother and myself : )), and she has come up with a fantastic piece. Her doctor will attach this to her own, as well as labs, images and consults, and hopefully the referral will be sent off in the next couple of weeks! Toronto has an amazing Transplant program, and do far more live liver donor surgeries than BC. They have awesome statistics and are leading the way in organ transplantation!

This is an exciting possibility for Michelle! Please keep Michelle and family, and Miss M and family in your prayers.

Tracey

ADDRESS!

We have a new mailing address! Please send stuff for Michelle to:

Way To Live
PO Box 105-4500 Westwater Drive
Richmond, BC
V7E 6S1

We have our old PO box for a few more weeks, so anything that has been already sent should reach us in time to be collected. Sorry for any confusion!

Thanks!
Tracey

Generous Outpouring of Support!

Support for Michelle and her family is taking off like wildfire! Another Amazing Friend has stepped up to the starting line and is about to embark on a run in Michelle's honor! Please follow Eva's journey here http://eva-runningwild.blogspot.com as she pushes herself to new limits, just as Michelle does every day.
Thank you so much Eva! Once again, the Way's are so blessed to have such terrific friends holding them up as they wait in uncertainty.

Tracey

"People Helping People"

Jarvie's Uncle belongs to an organization called the Fraternal Order of Eagles Maple Ridge Aerie #2831. The Fraternal Order of Eagles is an international,non-profit organization that unites fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality; to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and by promoting peace, prosperity, gladness, and hope. The motto of the Organization is "People Helping People". How great is that! This year they have chosen Michelle's family to be one of their charities!
The group is organizing a fund raising Golf Tournament and Dinner for August 9th, 2009, at Heather Hills Farm in Maple Ridge. Partial proceeds will go towards the Way family, the rest of the proceeds will go towards other charities that the group serves.

***Details***

Event Date: August 9th, 2009

Tickets: Golf is open to both Women and Men, so get your foursome and join the game! $45/person for golf and dinner, $10/person dinner only. Must be paid in full by August 4th, 2009. To order tickets please email Sharon at shardel@shaw.ca. The hall only holds 100, thus tickets are limited.

Payment: cheques should be made payable to FOE Maple Ridge Aerie #2831 (I imagine cash is acceptable too).

Location: Heather Hills Farm 25494 - 117th Avenue, Maple Ridge B.C.

Dinner: steak, baked potato, corn on the Cob, salad, and dessert

*There will also be a silent auction!

Please direct your questions to Sharon at shardel@shaw.ca
For more information on the Fraternal Order of Eagles go to www.foe.com


So much kindness, it's just awesome : )
tracey

Where Does One Begin...

I was with Michelle this past Thursday when she had a phone conversation with a transplant team member. I am not sure what is okay to write at this point, or what will even remain consistent, as they seem to change their minds a little too frequently than comfortable. I will say that the news was disheartening, and Michelle is very low right now. She will be seeing her specialist tomorrow. Hopefully there she will get some answers to her questions, some clarity, some guidance. Prayers are needed that she will be strong in this appointment, and that Dr.E will be compassionate and proactive.

After the above phone call, Michelle was in tears, then proceeded to cry that the day was supposed to be "about you, and now it's about me". My heart jumped into my throat. The about me part was getting over my fear of flying, the about her part was her life in her hands. No forgiveness needed. Not now, not ever. Michelle does not speak easily or freely about her suffering. I feel so sad when she feels like she is burdening others by talking about her illness or the terrible symptoms she endures. I love you for you, liver disease and all, I'll take the whole package.

I am so proud of Michelle for being so strong. I am proud of her for sharing her story; I believe it encourages us to embrace empathy, to realize how precious life is, and to strive harder at using ourselves for good.

I flew on an airplane (twice!) this weekend. The 3+ hours I spent 1 to 1 with a pilot the day before my flight probably helped a little. But mostly I realized that if Michelle had the courage to handle her situation everyday, then I could get on a silly little airplane. You help me all the time, more than you'll ever know.

Tracey

Back To The Drawing Board...

So if anyone noticed that I said "pencil it in", it's because I have witnessed the indecisiveness of this whole process. I was actually going to put that I was "announcing with cautious hope...", but didn't want to seem like a downer. Yesterday Michelle received a call from the transplant team, her surgery date has been given to someone else that has been deemed worse off. Biggest bummer ever. Or maybe it's a blessing in disguise(a whole liver in the near future?)...I guess they have to buckle up and keep going on this ride. There are dates being discussed for September now, hopefully to be decided this thursday.

Michelle is due for banding of her esophageal varices again. Already? Last time she didn't have any banding for the first time in forever! This time she is pretty sure there are some varices in there, as she has been having difficulty swallowing. And her overall pain is pretty constant. Despite all this, she keeps trekking along. I'm starting to think she has a bit of a bean bank. Seems she can pull a few beans out of no where, but then ends up exhausted and feeling poorly for days after.

I'm so disappointed for the Ways right now. Not even so much that the surgery won't likely happen on the 24th, but mostly that they were given hope and had it swept away only days later. What a roller coaster : (.

Tracey

Break Out Your Calendars!

With much excitement I am pleased to announce that Michelle and Miss M. have operating rooms and 3 surgeons penciled in for August 24th!!! There is still the possibility of a whole liver before then, but if nothing comes up by that date, then they will proceed with the live-donor surgery if all goes well. Please pray for both Michelle and Miss M. during this time as the surgery becomes more of a reality, I know there will be unique fears for both.

But for now...*happy dance*!!!

Tracey