Hi, my name is Pauline Talty.
My hope lies in a small bowel transplant
Pauline Talty
I am 36 years old and suffer from a life-threatening condition known as Short Bowel Syndrome. I may not have long to live unless I have an operation called a Small Bowel Transplant.
I developed cancer when I was two years old and the radiation treatment I received from two years old to four years old permanently damaged my bowel.
Over the last four years I’ve had increasingly complex bowel surgery and now have less than 60cm of bowel, in poor condition, left. (Most adults have about 7 metres.)
Small Bowel Transplant surgery is difficult and rare and only available in America.
At the moment I am in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia. I am being artificially fed through my heart because I am not able to eat or digest food. Unfortunately I can’t survive long on artificial feeding because it is destroying my liver.
In addition aggressive adhesions (scar tissue) from prior surgery, are strangling my bowel.
It is rare that anyone is approved for or undergoes a bowel transplant. Most people who need one are too old when their bowel fails or they are so unwell they would not survive the complex and arduous surgery.
The Australian Government is assessing my case for funding assistance however, even with Government help, there is bound to be a shortfall. It could be as much as $200,000.
I have a long history of defying the odds just surviving this far but I really need help to get over this huge hurdle to stay alive.
You can help me raise the funds one dollar at a time.
Use the button below to donate $ 1 US dollar via PayPal.
or …
If you would like to donate a larger amount (in US dollars) use the following button.
Note:
If you are an Australian resident and would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please use the Transplant Australia website ( Transplant Australia ).
I hope, that by telling my story I will raise awareness of this illness as well as to get public donations towards my transplant.
I believe I have a lot to give back to the community. After a successful transplant I will be able to live a quality life, finish my MBA, return to my career as a Business Strategist and maybe even have a social life again!
But I’m honest with myself. There is a chance that I may not live long enough to have a transplant. Doctors in the USA may find I am not suitable or be unable to find a suitable donor. But I have to try and I’d like you to come on the journey with me.
If it happens that, for any reason, I cannot make use of the donations they will be held in trust by Transplant Australia to help other people in similar circumstances. They will do great good for someone if not for me..
Pauline Talty