Liver recipients, those waiting are supported

Poelma

Patsy Poelma begins and ends every day thanking people she has never met - the family of a teen-ager who donated his organs when he died.
   "I thank that organ donor family every day for what they did," said Poelma, who got a liver transplant in Houston after her own liver stopped metabolizing fat.
   A year after her transplant in 1996, Poelma penned a paperback, "Twice Blessed," which explained how important a Houston support group had been to her recovery.
   "It was a way for me to have closure," said Poelma, who printed 100 copies of her paperback and distributed them among family and friends.
   But Poelma wanted to do more than just write about her experiences with a support group.
   She wanted others to have the same kind of moral support.
   And so three months ago, Poelma started a local support group for people awaiting a liver transplant, those who have had a liver transplant, and their spouses and families.
   The support group has 12 members, including Bruce Matthews, a Taft pharmacist who had a liver transplant 10 years ago after being burned in a fire and receiving tainted blood in a transfusion that led to hepatitis and other complications of the liver.
   One-on-one talks
   Through the years, Matthews has helped numerous Coastal Bend liver transplant patients by making himself available for one-on-one talks.
   The new support group, Matthews said, will help those who've had successful liver transplants help others.
   "The best thing in the world to get these people to do is talk," Matthews said. "When they share their fears and problems, they realize that others have gone through the same thing and lived through them."
   Susan Buquet, a sixth-grade teacher at St. Patrick School, got to attend one support group meeting before she got her transplant April 20 in San Antonio.
   Buquet, who needed a transplant because of obstruction/infection of the bile ducts, returned to the school for the first time Wednesday for a brief visit and to sign her teaching contract for the fall.

Liver transplant support group When: 6:30 pm the first Tuesday of every month. Where: Magnolia Room at Christus Spohn Shoreline. Info: Call Patsy Poelma at 854-4279.

   "I can't imagine why this happened to me," Buquet said of her disease. But the teacher in her now feels compelled to impart the lifesaving message of organ donation to others and the support group will help her reach a wider audience.
   "Every waking moment now my brain has just been going crazy trying to get this message out about how important organ donation is," she said. "Because I teach and because I've been in this community all my life, I know this is something I'm supposed to do."
   Like Buquet, Poelma said she is driven to get the message out.
   "It's such a miracle, what happened to me," Poelma said. "Material things don't mean anything to me anymore. Spending time with family and friends is what's important.
   "You can thank someone for opening a door for you, or a waiter for good service, but how do you thank someone for giving you your life back? I just hope I get to meet my organ donor family some day."