By Lugene Hudson
NEW CASTLE NEWS (NEW CASTLE, Pa.)
NEW CASTLE, Pa.
August 30, 2007 11:32 am
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True faith is like an unbroken chain.
For the Rev. Harold “Bud” Green, the links have occasionally weakened. But his unrelenting beliefs keep him anchored as he plays the waiting game of his life.
Green needs a liver. His name has been registered for one year on the transplant list at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh. Each phone call into his Neshannock Township home could be the one that changes his life.
The waiting game requires patience. But Green is determined to appreciate each day until he receives word that a liver has been found.
A MAN OF FAITH
For more than three decades, Green, 48, has led congregations. To parishioners, he personified strength with his appearance and demeanor.
Today, his body is worn out from illness and medications and he moves at a slower pace. The usually soft-spoken voice has taken on even more subdued levels.
Although he is currently on medical leave from Shenango Presbyterian Church, Green’s contagious smile and sincere personality make him a much-loved figure to members of all ages.
Now instead of leading others in prayers, Green and his family — including wife Jennifer and children, Kyla, 15, Allie, 13 and Jordan, 11 — find themselves on prayer chains throughout the county and beyond.
His illness began five years ago with a diseased gallbladder and the doctor’s suspicions about a liver problem. That intuition was correct. Following a liver biopsy, Green learned he had the non-alcoholic-induced form of cirrhosis.
On Aug. 18, 2006, his name was placed on the transplant list. He started waiting and has been waiting ever since. Yet while the physical strength is sapped, inner strength through powerful convictions never bends.
“I did ask, ‘Why me?’ But then I asked, ‘Why not me?’ ” he said. “I’ve learned to take one day at a time.”
THE JOY OF MINISTRY
Green’s entire life has been devoted to pastoring. His last sermon was December 2005. He has attended services recently, but “I look forward to the day I can return to the pulpit.”
During the past year, members of his church family have died and Green said he regrets he was not able to participate in services.
“I’m getting by knowing there are so many people praying.”
That includes close to 400 children in orphanages in Kenya overseen by a missionary friend.
“They call me ‘Mr. Bud,’ ” the pastor said, smiling.
“God has been faithful,” Jennifer Green said. “We haven’t gone without. God has provided. He is in control and we’ll take whatever he offers.”
Once, as he was being prepped for surgery, she asked her husband, “Are you afraid?”
“Either way, I’m OK” was the answer. “I’m not afraid of what will happen because of my faith and knowledge that God has my life in his hands.”
UPS AND DOWNS
Staying positive can be difficult for anyone who waits for an organ. Green endured a 3 1/2-month-stay at Montefiore in 2006 battling a brain infection.
His wife, a registered nurse, said his immune system is so depressed that he easily acquires other medical problems. Adding to those issues is major fluid retention and water pills that compromise his kidneys, a long list of medications and diabetes that requires an insulin pump.
Green cannot venture beyond two hours from Pittsburgh in case a call comes from the transplant center. In fact, four calls have come to the Green household.
“Going down is all adrenaline,” he said.
Upon arrival each time, he then learned the liver donor wasn’t suitable.
“The waiting is getting tedious,” he sighed.
Knowing the phone could ring at any time, the Greens have a plan and are ready to drop anything and make the drive to the transplant center.
Jennifer Green noted that a woman from the church called “out of the blue,” asking about live liver donations and Jennifer inquired into being a live donor. Three or four others also looked into the possibility. But the criteria is very stringent. She noted they were told by transplant center coordinators that in live liver transplants, 60 percent of the donor’s liver is taken, the individual must be 18, and part of the evaluation involves testing blood type, a liver biopsy and extensive psychological counseling.
Reality also sets in.
“During the initial evaluation for the transplant, doctors were very straightforward,” Jennifer Green said. “They told us, ‘You understand not everyone gets a transplant.’ ”
GIVING AND RECEIVING
The Greens have been designated organ donors for years. Now Bud Green finds himself on the needing end. The couple realizes that he could receive a liver from someone who has passed away or from a living donor.
“Some people are on the list for three years,” Jennifer Green said.
According to statistics from the Starzl Institute, live donor liver transplantation was developed in response to the extreme shortage of donor organs. Recent studies show the recipient of a live donor has a better outcome than cadaver liver transplant. The procedure for a live liver transplant takes five to 10 hours and every person recovers at different rates.
“We didn’t know about live liver donation at first,” Jennifer Green said, adding there is no list for that type of donation.
Bud Green pointed out that he was told 60 percent of the liver is taken, but the organ is able to regenerate to 98 percent within 12 days of surgery.
“It’s the most unselfish act,” Jennifer Green said. “It’s a huge, huge thing. There’s major surgery and a recovery period.”
Chances are greater the liver will be from a cadaver, his wife explained.
“Every time we get a call, I immediately think of the other family who is losing someone.”
“I just want people to be aware that donation of part of a liver is an option for anyone,” Bud Green said. “It could alleviate the shortage of cadaveric donations.”
While the Greens face uncertainty in the future, Jennifer Green is aware of one thing. Whether her husband receives a live liver or one from a cadaver, she believes the whole situation is in God’s hands.
Lugene Hudson writes for the New Castle (Pa.) News.
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LIVE LIVER DONATION FACTS
According to the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute:
•Currently 18,000 people are listed for a liver transplant in the U.S. But only about 6,000 livers per year are donated after death. Each year, about 9,000 patients are added to this list.
•Until recently, this technique was almost exclusively used in small children.
•With a living donor, the transplant is planned for a time when the person waiting for the liver and the live donor are in the best condition.
•A donor must be in good general health and must have a blood type compatible with the recipient.
•The donor’s sole reason for donating must be an unselfish wish to help the recipient.
•One in three people who are considered for living donation turn out to be a suitable candidate.
According to the Center for Organ Recovery and Education or CORE:
•The liver is second only to kidneys in demand for transplantation.
•The center plays the role between potential donors and patients awaiting transplantation.
•Since 1977, when the organization was founded under another name, it has helped to provide more than 300,000 organs.
•The first successful living donor liver transplant was performed in 1989.
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Photos
Bud Green.