Thank you for all you have done for us. And please leave that hospital as soon as possible.
God bless this Marine and his wife.
NEW LIVER: Doctors in Loma Linda say the Marine is recovering, but in a coma.
12:09 AM PST on Tuesday, February 1, 2005
By PAUL LaROCCO / The Press-Enterprise
LOMA LINDA - Good timing could describe doctors' ability to find Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu a liver Saturday, just as they feared he had entered his final hours.
The Marine's stepfather, however, sees it as a more bittersweet example of life's give-and-take.
"There's someone out there who lost someone yesterday," Eric Lamendola said, "but they gave us Chris back."
Greg Vojtko / The Press-Enterprise
Dr. Donald Hillebrand talks with Melany LeBleu and Susan Lamendola, the wife and mother of Marine Chris LeBleu, a liver recipient who remains in critical condition.
Less than two days after an anonymous donor's death provided LeBleu with the full, matching liver he needed for a transplant, doctors said the 22-year-old was already showing signs of a full recovery.
LeBleu, an Iraq war veteran stationed with the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, remained unconscious and in critical condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center Monday. But doctors said his new liver is functioning well, and they expressed hope he'll awake from his coma within the week.
Liver transplant patients have a 60 percent to 90 percent chance of survival; as opposed to 15 percent to 40 percent for patients unable to find a donor, according to Dr. OK Ojogho, one of three surgeons who conducted LeBleu's operation of nearly 12 hours Sunday. Successful transplant patients live an average of 15 years after their operation, with the longest known survivor living 35 years.
"We expect him, obviously, to do well," said Ojogho.
No further information was released on the donor's identity, other than that the liver came from New Mexico. After being diagnosed with acute liver failure last Wednesday -- with the threat of death within days -- LeBleu was moved to the top of the donor list. The three days it took to locate a matching liver was actually considered a long time for someone with such an advanced case.
"We would have hoped to have gotten something sooner," Ojogho said.
It is still unclear what caused the Marine's liver failure. Doctors said they're awaiting results from a battery of tests, including one for viral hepatitis. A CT scan and brain MRI conducted to see if LeBleu's coma stemmed from anything neurological came back clean, said Dr. Donald Hillebrand, medical director for the hospital's Transplant Institute.
LeBleu spent seven months in western Iraq last year, serving as a rifleman for support and stabilization operations near the Syrian border. Doctors haven't ruled out that the soldier contracted the disease that led to his liver failure while overseas, but they also cautioned anyone from jumping to conclusions.
Capt. Brad Tippett, who served as LeBleu's commander in both Iraq and in Twentynine Palms, said he doesn't know of any other soldiers in his unit who have reported similar illnesses.
His Marines, after hearing about LeBleu's worsening condition last month, went well beyond moral support in coming to their comrade's aid, Tippett said.
"Guys were saying, 'I'm type-O positive, can I give half my liver to Chris?' 'I'm type-O positive, can I give my blood to Chris?' " he said. "Everyone wanted to know what they could do."
Dozens of Marines have swarmed the hospital in recent days, giving comfort to LeBleu's newlywed wife, Melany. The 21-year-old, who met LeBleu in their hometown of Lake Charles, La., has held a constant bedside vigil for her husband since he was transferred to Loma Linda on Jan. 26.
On Monday, Melany LeBleu said Chris "looked wonderful" after surgery, and that she can't wait to let him know how his illness caught the attention of so many.
"I'll tell him everything that happened," she said, "and how he's loved across the nation."
Before he lapsed into a coma, her husband expressed hope he could continue his service with the Marines, she said.
Hillebrand is confident LeBleu will return to a "near-normal" life, but added that he's unsure that would include the grueling activities required in the military.
"Most people get back to near-normal," he said. "Whether that's consistent with being a Marine, well, that's a tough life."