Proving them Wrong

Matison Deaton is a remarkable woman, with perseverance that most cannot even imagine. She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 1 1/2 years old, so her life was filled with lots of doctors’ appointments and all kinds of things that kids just shouldn’t have to experience. She knew from a young age that she may one day need a lung transplant. Her doctors didn’t tell her she had kidney disease – she found out from her “after-visit summary” and later learned she would need both a double lung and a kidney transplant. Mattie also found out from her notes that she was estimated to have 5-7 years left to live. It was 6 years into this span that she finally found a transplant center willing to take a risk, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). This was only after being rejected 13 times from other centers, due to being thought to be “too high risk” because she had a multi-drug-resistant lung infection. Mattie says that it was almost “out of spite” that she kept trying…and because she didn’t want others to have to go through what she did. “One day, you guys could be wrong.” And they were.

Mattie offers insight into what it is like to navigate the complex emotions of receiving a gift that is someone else’s loss…to feel excitement and hope mixed with grief that is not her own. Recovery was so difficult that, at one point, she felt regret. But, about 6 months later, she was moving forward. She describes what it is like now to be able to change her own sheets, to laugh without worrying about vomiting, and finally, to dance. She also talks about navigating the uncertainty of figuring out how to build a life that is not just filled with illness.

@americantransplant @UCSFMedicalCenter @UCSFSchoolofMedicine

Also listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/6yPv16c6bl9Al4oYs6Iqih?si=0db7c872ef9c42a2

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/transplant-talks/id1775090608

For more information on organ transplantation: https://www.americantransplantfoundation.org www.livingliverdonation.com

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