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.
Good to see you, dear friend!
Prayers and wishes for a matching donor and may the Lord guide those that have been entrusted with your care.
More prayers for this young Marine. Father, please, if it be your will, let this hero be returned to his formerly healthy self. We know that anything is within Your power. Give him comfort and please provide him with a donor for the bone-marrow transplant.
Prayers are going up for Chris and Melany even as we speak! Tell them we are here and we are praying for them...
Prayers Ascending for Chris right now. Hear us, our Gracious Father in Heaven!
Prayers continue for Chris.
Dear Chris & Family,
Because I am not in the United States, I just now learned of your illness and fight to get well. I am praying for your complete recovery. Thank you so much for your sacrifice and service to this country. You and all the men and women who have served our country are heroes. God Bless You!
Ongoing prayers for Chris (and Melany). May God's angels watch over Chris and support Melany through this traumatic time in their lives.
Dear Lord,
Please guide the doctors, nurses and caregivers
as they tend to Chris.
Please give Chris the peace that passes our understanding
as he deals with this ordeal.
Please comfort Chris and his family.
Thank you Jesus,
I humbly ask all of this in Your Holy name.
Amen.
BTTT!!!!
BTT!!!!!
and Amen.
Dear Chris and Melany:
All of my prayers and good wishes are sent to you today.
Hang on tight to your faith in Our Lord God, who watches over each one of us.
I know that the oldest chestnut in the book is, "Someday you'll look back on all of this,..." but, I can tell you that so very often it is true. Stay strong!
I've got AB+ is that a help?
I mean it, if AB+ works contact me through FR. If I leave at 6:30am I can be in Corona by 2:30pm.
Chris, people across the country are cheering for you.
Thanks for the update. May God continue to heal him, and keep his family strong.
Prayers going out fer all the Marines who are sacrificing so much to keep America secure...MUD
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