Dear FFCC Volunteers,
Last March, we notified you of the plight of Suzanne Stewart Pohlman, whose daughter was in desperate need of a lung lobe transplant. The situation has continued to progress, and now her daughter is in immediate need of the transplant. Here are the details from Suzanne:
Yesterday afternoon, my daughter Katrina, who went into a crisis mode the day before and was moved to ICU at UCSD Hospital Thornton, was placed on a ventilator. This means that she is very near death. The choice was made to place her on this life support system to buy some time to either find 2 matching donated lobes for live transplant or to receive cadaveric lungs. She will only remain eligible for transplant for two weeks while on the ventilator. It is also very difficult generally for a person at end-stage Cystic Fibrosis to survive after being removed from artificial support. So, in an effort to make certain that everyone understands and, please forgive this bluntness, this is a calculated last ditch effort to try to give Katie the gift of new lungs and to live.
In short we only have two weeks to make something happen for her.
Here is exactly what you can do to help.
· If you are under 55, have type A or O blood and are at least 5' 9" and are willing to give up one of your five lung lobes to Katie, call my husband John Pohlman at (760) 579-8275 and we will get you tested to be a cross-match. Katrina is a very difficult match because of being transfused years ago and therefore her blood chemistry changed. The test to see if you are a suitable cross match is simple and painless. If you are a match, USC will take it from there.
· Post the need for transplant donors to every friend and Facebook contacts right now! Please ask them to consider giving one lobe to her IF they qualify. Please make certain that they understand how critical it is to act now.
· Please ask your friends, family and congregations to pray for Katie now.
· Because of the length of time it takes to find a donor...and now we have only two weeks to accomplish this...we can only identify potential donors for testing through this first week. Please understand that there is absolutely no time to waste.
Please I implore you to act now, right now. Please do not hesitate.
Thank you for your consideration in lovingly and prayerfully considering this massively bold request. Please help me save my daughter's life.
Suzanne Stewart Pohlman
