Marvin Sawyer stands eight hours a day at his post at Thurgood Marshall-Baltimore Washington International Airport. That may not sound remark able to many of us who have held retail or customer care positions, but this was not such an easy feat for Marvin three years ago, before his liver transplant. Now, he looks back on what life was like pre-transplant and thinks about the change his liver transplant has made for him and his family. "I wake up every morning, and before I even get out of bed, I give thanks for what I have been given," says Marvin.
Marvin’s initial diagnosis was hepatitis that led to cirrhosis of the liver. An independent man, at first he tried to hide his pain and fatigue from his friends and family. He was doing the opposite of what his liver transplant social worker, Linda Darrell had told him. She had advised him to reach out to his family and friends - they would be invaluable support. But Marvin sensed that his tight-knit family would be highly concerned for him, and he did not want them to undergo the stress that accompanies coping with this type of illness. However, Marvin’s was a late diagnosis. Very quickly, the severity of his symptoms began to show. It soon became clear to his friends and family what was happening.
Marvin speaks passionately about his family’s support during his transplant experience. Linda had been correct. His family did, indeed, provide invaluable support. To this day when Marvin describes what his family did for him, his eyes begin to water. From his experience, Marvin knows that no single person should shoulder the weight of illness alone.
Small actions on the part of friends can mean a world of difference, too. When it became apparent to his co-workers that Marvin was ill, they all stepped forward to provide him what support they could. When the fatigue brought on by Marvin’s illness would not let him stand at his post, his co-workers would ask to relieve him. He would proceed to the meditation room for airport employees to recover his energy and then return to his post. Marvin’s determination to continue at his position before the transplant would predict the success of his recovery post-surgery.
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Mark Sawer, son and Mavin Sawyer, liver transplant recipient, pictured at work in 2005. Marvin’s story and stories of other liver transplant patients will be featured in a Johns Hopkins educational video to be released in the Spring of 2006. Call the Johns Hopkins Transplant Outreach Division for more infomation: 410-614-5622. |
On June 6, 2002, Marvin became dangerously ill and was flown by helicopter to Johns Hopkins Hospital to be admitted into intensive care. He was suffering from fluid buildup around his internal organs, he was vomiting blood and his kidneys had failed. He says he does not remember his stay in the intensive care unit very clearly. It was a race against time for Marvin, but during his stay in intensive care, a donor liver miraculously became available.
Marvin’s five-hour surgery was uneventful and he began his in-hospital recovery on June 12th. Since he had been so ill prior to the transplant, the team predicted a longer than normal in-hospital recovery.
Like all transplant patients, he progressed from the surgical intensive care unit, to the "step-down" intensive care unit, to the standard transplant floor. However, Marvin’s progression through these units was within the typical 7 - 14 days.
One complication that he had to overcome after the transplant was the effect of recovering in hospital beds for a long period. Marvin’s muscles needed rejuvenation. In the standard transplant unit, he was visited by one of the physical therapists to start this process. Marvin recalls, "I’ll never forget when he came into my room and said, ‘try to do as much as they ask you, on your own.’" This was where Marvin’s independence would be essential. He had no intention of languishing in the hospital one minute more than was necessary. His nurse would ask him if she could help him move to the far side of the bed, and he would say, "Let me. I can do it," even though he was not sure whether his muscle would allow him to move or not.
He was determined to recover quickly to return home to his family. On June 21, just nine days from when he was transplanted, Marvin was discharged from the hospital.
Despite the initial difficulty Marvin had in recovering from the surgery, three months later, he was doing remarkably well. That was November 2002, the time of year when the American Liver Foundation (ALF) sponsors a 5-kilometer liver run/walk to raise funds to fight liver disease. Marvin surprised the Hopkins liver team by showing up at the ALF fundraiser. "I walked up to the race coordinator and said, ‘give me the last number,’ I may not be at the beginning of the pack, but I am going to walk in this race."
His partners on the walk were his transplant surgeon and Patricia DeBerry, the patient services coordinator who had answered so many of his calls to Johns Hopkins. Finishing that race along with the liver transplant team, he says, was one of the best moments of his whole transplant experience.
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MarvinSawyer and Patricia DeBerry participating in Marvin’s first Liver 5 K Run/Walk as a post-transplant patient. |
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Join the Johns Hopkins Liver Transplant Team at the American Liver Foundation’s annual 5 K Liver Run/Walk and fundraiser on November 19, 2005 at beautiful Centennial Park in Columbia, Maryland. The event starts at 9am. Remember to sign up for "TEAM HOPKINS" if you are interested in participating. Team Hopkins will be coordinated by Patricia DeBerry and headed up by Dr. Warren Maley, the Surgical Director of the Liver Transplant Program. Log on to www. alfdc.org or call Patient Services Coordinator, Pat DeBerry at 410-614-2989 for more information. |
