WINNIPEG – Receiving an organ transplant is not just something that happens after you pass away. A Manitoba woman got a new liver from someone she had known for years – and who is still alive.
At 14, Melissa Rothery was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, which was discovered completely by accident.
“I was a typical teenager. I went to the family doctor because I had bad skin,” said Rothery. “I wanted to go on a drug at the time called Accutane. It’s really hard on your blood and your systems, so the doctor had to do a blood test.”
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During that blood test, the doctor found a few red flags.
“I was not concerned about acne anymore. I was actually seeing a liver specialist,” she said. “And that’s when I was originally diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. And at that point, I had already developed cirrhosis of the liver.”
Despite her condition, doctors told Rothery she wouldn’t need a new liver right away.
“The doctors said to me, ‘You probably won’t need a liver transplant until you’re 30,’ ” said Rothery, now 32. “As a typical 14-year-old, I thought, ‘Oh, 30. That’s old. I have my whole life.’ ”
Rothery said she went through some health issues after that and was put on the transplant list when she was 19.
At that point, doctors were worried she had liver cancer. She didn’t, but her liver disease had become worse.
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She was placed on the transplant list through London, Ont., because liver transplants are only performed in Ontario and Alberta.
Rothery’s mom, dad and then-fiancé all got tested to see if they were a match for her.
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She and her now-husband got their first apartment and got engaged while she was on the wait list.
There were just not enough matches out there or there were people who were sicker at the time, said Rothery, who was still working part-time and wasn’t confined to a hospital bed.
Rothery was self-employed as a massage therapist in the same salon where her longtime hairdresser and friend worked.
“She knew me through everything,” said Rothery, who had known the woman since she was 11 years old. “She knew me before I was even sick.”
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Rothery said one day, the woman asked about her health. At the time, she was okay, but getting more nervous and scared that she would never receive an organ.
“She — very nonchalantly — was like, ‘Oh, well, I’ll be your donor,’ ” said Rothery. “You don’t necessarily take it seriously at the time when someone says that.”
Rothery said she initially wasn’t okay with the idea because the woman had started going through testing and she was worried about her health.
“It’s not like $5. I can never pay her back for this,” said Rothery, whose parents eventually convinced her to consider the option.
“She went through about a year of testing. Then we ended up having our transplant on Oct. 19, 2007.”
Rothery encourages people to sign up as an organ donor and make their wishes known to their families.
#48in48 is Global News’ campaign to have 48,000 people sign up as organ donors across Canada in 48 hours. The campaign ends April 22.
Sign up to be an organ donor at www.liveon.ca.
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