Posted on 01/30/2005 7:09:13 PM PST by doug from upland
FREEPERS -- the story of a young Marine is below. Loma Linda is a half hour away from me. Leave messages on this thread, I'll print it, and I'll deliver it to his wife at the hospital.
Marine, Iraq Veteran, Receives New Liver
Yahoo News ^ | 1/30/05 | BEN FOX, AP
Posted on 01/30/2005 6:35:36 PM PST by kattracks
LOMA LINDA, Calif. - With little time left before his organs would likely fail, a U.S. Marine received a new liver Sunday for a mysterious ailment doctors said would kill him if he didn't get a transplant. Doctors operated on Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu, who had been in a coma and on life support, for nearly 12 hours Sunday after an unidentified donor from New Mexico was found late Saturday night.Doctors said the procedure went well, said Sgt. Jennie Haskamp, spokeswoman at Twentynine Palms, where LeBleu was stationed. He was in critical condition late Sunday.
In the hospital lobby, his 21-year-old wife, Melany, found comfort in photos of her wedding last fall, shortly after LeBleu returned from Iraq (news - web sites). Despite her fears, she has remained optimistic since her husband's illness was discovered earlier this month.
Several of LeBleu's commanding officers, fellow Marines and other family members huddled with his wife Sunday as they awaited the outcome of the operation.
Burt Parham, who is related to LeBleu by marriage, said he expected bad news when he got the call that a liver had been found.
"It was kind of a worried ring, but we were glad of the news," said Parham, who lives in the family's hometown of Lake Charles, La. "It's a shame somebody has to die. But I mean, it's God's will, I guess. We sure have been praying for Chris."
The cause of the infection is unknown. Dr. Donald Hillebrand, a liver specialist, said LeBleu most likely caught a virus or was exposed to a toxin or chemical in Iraq or after his return.
LeBleu, 22, was a rifleman in Iraq for seven months as part of a 2,200-man task force that lost 21 people and had nearly 200 wounded in action. His battalion commander, Lt. Col. Matt Lopez, said he wasn't aware of any other members of the unit with similar ailments to LeBleu.
Fellow Marines call him "Blue," and say the Marine kept a cool head as his 160-man company guarded a base near the Syrian border.
"He's a real resilient guy, the most relaxed, confident person you'll ever meet," said Lance Cpl. Rob Whittenberg, 23, of Spring Branch, Texas.
The infection developed gradually.
In mid-December, just months after he returned from Iraq, LeBleu told his new wife he felt tired, a little under the weather.
Still, he was strong enough to drive them home to Louisiana for the holidays from his Marine Base in Southern California, going for 36 hours straight. On Jan. 2, he found the strength to go wild boar hunting with relatives.
"We kept telling him to go to a doctor, but he said it was just a sinus infection," Melany LeBleu said. "Of course, we didn't think it was anything major."
Days later, he felt much worse during the drive back to the Marine base at Twentynine Palms. In Texas, LeBleu felt so nauseous he had to pull over. They made it back to their home on the base, but he didn't get better.
On Jan. 10, she took him to a base emergency room, which sent him to Loma Linda University Medical Center, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles.
"He couldn't keep anything down, not even water," she said.
As recently as Thursday, he was jaundiced and swelling but could still answer questions, Hillebrand said.
Within 24 hours, however, he was no longer coherent and had to be put on life support.
Without a new liver, his other organs would have started to fail, his doctor said.
About 17,500 people are waiting for liver transplants in the United States, Hillebrand said. LeBleu's family and friends had sought a liver from someone with O-positive blood as a directed donation, outside the usual waiting process.
"It's hard to see your husband in that situation," Melany LeBleu said. "You can't even describe the feeling."
___
Associated Press Writers Doug Simpson and Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans contributed to this report.
Ping for a good cause. Updates at 451 and 457. Prayers up folks.
Thanks for the ping amom, I will certainly keep Chris in my prayers.
Thanks potlatch. I knew I could count on you.
God Bless , Thank You for your service and get your a$$ well now Please. Did I say Thank You !!!! This is from a bunch of us up in Alaska. :-)
Marrow, blood drive today may aid Marine 2/24/2005
A blood and marrow drive is being held for Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu today at all blood banks in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
LeBleu, the 22-year-old Marine who received a last-minute liver transplant last month, is suffering from aplastic anemia and may need a bone marrow transplant. The disease causes bone marrow to stop producing enough red blood cells.
The Blood Bank is a donor center for the National Marrow Donor Program, a facilitator of unrelated marrow and blood stem cell transplants.
LeBleu will need Type-O blood for the marrow or stem cell transplant, most likely from the same racial or ethnic group.
Interested donors must be between ages 18 and 60 and in good health.
The testing is $65, but the fee will be waived for the first 100 testers who donate a pint of blood.
For more information, contact Loma Linda University Medical Center at (909) 558-4419 or the Blood Bank at (909) 386-6848.
BLOOD BANK LOCATIONS
384 Orange Show Road
San Bernardino
4006 Van Buren Blvd.
Riverside
1959 E. 4th St.
Ontario
1148 San Bernardino Road
Upland
11941 Hesperia Road
Hesperia
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E2728787,00.html
BTTT with prayers for Chris!!!
Hang in there Chris. You have MANY people praying for you!!
Marine still needs help PING
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1332306/posts?page=465#465
More info on Updates at 451 and 457
Father, as I come before You, I know You know every fiber of our beings!
I ask that You bring back to health, this courageous young Soldier, Chris.
Lord You and You alone can wipe this disease out of his body!
I thank You for his service to the cause of freedom!
He is one of those precious young men who give all they have!
Lord he served as a guardian of the freedom You have allowed America to have.
Heal him, Father.
Bring him back to his family!
We ask You, in Jesus Name. That Name that is above all names!
Amen!
I join in prayers for Chris!!!
Bump
Excellent! Good to 'see' you again my dear friend.
Please tell Corporal LeBleu that we are all so grateful for his service and that we are praying for him to get well ASAP.
Ohhh, Tonk! Thanks for using your ping list! :-)
You've won so many battles Chris. Keep on fighting, we'll support you all the way!
OORRAH!!
A Prayer for Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleuLord, hold Chris in your loving hands.Protect him as he has protected us. Bless him and his family for the selfless acts he has performed for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen
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Thank you for the ping. It is fantasic that one of our Freepers is willing to take our good wishes to this brave Marine.
Ping for a good cause. Updates at 451 and 457. Prayers up folks.
Thanks always, Tonk.
My prayers sent.
Hang in there, Chris!
From a fellow Lousianian.
Get out of that hospital as soon as you can! :-)
"Thank you all for your prayers and concern, and please keep the prayers and good thoughts going! They truly have made a difference."
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Bump!
Thanks for the ping Tonkin. I had already replied to amom about prayers for Chris.
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