This is Noah Swanson. Read his fascinating and beautiful story about his life and the liver transplant that saved his life! Thank you Noah for sharing your story with us!
Thank you all for supporting our cause
Organ Donation Awareness. Noah is also advocating, educating and encouraging
people to take a stand for organ donation awareness. You will find more about
his amazing work here www.atransplantedlife.com
A
Transplanted Life
Before I was born, my grandfather passed
away from a failed liver. When I was two
years old, my father passed away from a failed liver. And when I was thirteen years old, I found
out that my liver as well was headed for the same demise.
The summer before I began high school I
came down with cough that wouldn’t seem to go away. As weeks turned into months, my sickness
didn’t seem to improve. In spite of my
objection, my mother decided it was time to see the doctor. As I walked into the clinic, I assumed I would
be walking back out with a prescription to cure my cold. However, as the doctor began to run his
diagnostics he soon discovered something more serious than a cold. An x-ray of my chest revealed pneumonia. However, my blood work uncovered further issues
that my doctor was unable to diagnose.
Instead of cough medicine, I left that day with unanswered questions and
a referral to a specialist.
After seeing specialist after specialist
unable to diagnose my sickness, I began to feel like I was trapped in a
terrible dream. In a matter of days I had
gone from never stepping foot in a doctor’s office to taking a citywide tour of
every hospital in the area as we searched for answers. After being transferred from one doctor to
another, I was finally diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis at the age of
fourteen.
The next two years consisted of countless
tests, procedures and a good amount of time spent within the walls of multiple
hospitals. I often balanced a line
between fear and frustration. The
formidable years of high school were being jaded by sickness that had come out
of nowhere. So many new questions and
thoughts flooded my mind. I began to
acquire new perspectives most teenagers never obtain.
The first two years of my life was the only
time I had been given with my father and it left me with very little memory of
him. I thought about my father often,
but the only recollection I had of him consisted in picture and stories my mom
had shared. But throughout this journey,
I often wondered if I was sharing a similar experience that my father had gone
through. “Did my dad feel the same
frustration I am feeling,” I often thought to myself. I had always known my father passed away from
liver disease, but never imagined I might go through a similar experience.
As my journey progressed I sank deeper and
deeper into reality. My blood work that
revealed an abnormality was the first step into this new reality. And then I had my first minor operation that
forced me to take one step further down into reality. My diagnosis had been given and my doctors began
to discuss the possibilities that lay ahead.
They had promised every option would be considered to prevent me from
having an organ transplant. But as my
health continued to deteriorate and my options had been exhausted, my doctors
informed me of the inevitable – the last option I hoped I would never have to
face.
My liver was rapidly failing and my doctors
had exhausted all of the alternatives to a liver transplant. But as I began to go through the process to
be listed on the national organ donor list I discovered a whole new hurdle we
would have to overcome. My insurance
company informed me they wouldn’t allow me to have my liver transplant at the
hospital I had been receiving care for over two years. My parents went back and forth with the
insurance company and even high-ranking government officials tried to plead my
case. But in the end the insurance
company wouldn’t change their mind.
I was forced to transfer care to another
hospital six hours away from home. Frustration
seemed to compound upon itself, but God is good. It wasn’t long before I once again found
myself in the hands of incredible doctors who were more than prepared to
perform my surgery. After going through
the process again, I was placed on the organ donor list. An incredible answer to prayer brought my
liver transplant sooner than we had expected.
My surgery was a success and now, standing
here fifteen years later, I can thankfully say I am alive and well.
To read more about my story visit www.atransplantedlife.com.
