Soldier Says Army In Way Of Donating Kidney To Mother

Source: WMUR

FORT SILL, Okla. -- A soldier from New Hampshire said the Army is standing in the way of lifesaving kidney donor surgery for his mother.

Army Spc. Frank Chapman, 27, is a match to his mother, Patricia Chapman, who suffers from kidney disease and is on dialysis three days a week. They are scheduled for transplant surgery June 13 in Florida, where Patricia Chapman lives.

Chapman, his wife and her two children are all packed up to move. He had sought a compassionate reassignment from the Army so they could care for Patricia, who lives in Dunnellon, Fla., after the surgery. But the plans are in limbo after the family learned last month that Army medical officials are denying permission for the surgery, which they said could lead to medical problems for Chapman down the road.

"How would you tell your mom two weeks before the surgery that, 'Oop, I can't give you a kidney,'" Chapman told KSWO-TV in Lawton.

Chapman said the denial is over a high blood pressure reading at a hospital, which he disputes, noting he has been cleared for surgery by doctors at Reynolds Army Community Hospital at Fort Sill and Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where the surgery is scheduled.

Chapman's wife, Tiffany, said the high reading is because her husband gets nervous on doctor visits and that readings on a home meter all have been in a healthy range.
...
The timing is urgent because Patricia Chapman, 54, has been on dialysis for three years and her health is deteriorating, said Patience Marsh, Frank's sister.

"If she doesn't get the transplant, it's just like a ticking time bomb. Basically, dialysis kills you over time and you can't live for too long," said Marsh, who lives in Lisbon, N.H.


Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/13427632/detail.html?rss=man&psp=news

Funny the Army is so concerned that the surgery could "lead to medical problems for Chapman down the road." Oh, that the Army were as concerned for the thousands of active duty personnel and veterans currently suffering from PTSD and other ailments as a direct result of their service. :cry:

But she can't damage herself, only the military has the right to do that.

Thank you so much for your support.

Talk about getting beside yourselves! Sure, I'll watch my mother die because you say so. Whatthefuckever...buh bye now.

She would get that kidney in a New York minute! Hell, I'd bet you my next itty bitty paycheck that Frist would donate one of his own kidneys to her.

Vultures of life.

It's called "Spreading Freedom."

Without a doubt this is a major SNAFU, which hopefully will be resolved mosh kosh.

"If she doesn't get the transplant, it's just like a ticking time bomb. Basically, dialysis kills you over time and you can't live for too long," said Marsh, who lives in Lisbon, N.H.

People on dialysis die from ~~~~ complications from diabetes or uncontrolled high blood pressure ergo, heart attacks or heart failure or in the instances of polycystic organs; from liver failure. In 20 years, I've never known anyone to actually die of kidney failure or from being on dialysis. It isn't the best life, but it is a life which can be lived usefully and it is better than the alternative (IMO)

This doesn't negate the ridiculousness of the Army. Live transplants from a relative are the best route, hands down, for a person with kidney failure to obtain a kidney. The organ survives much more frequently than does the organ from a cadaver.

whisperingriver.homestead.com/thewalkingdead.html

Franks mom has End Stage Renal Disease. She did not get it from diabetes or high blood pressure, she got it from a reaction to a bee sting.. She has no function in either of her kidneys. Because of this she can only consume 32oz of fluid a day, and can not eat and potassium, and many other things. How long can you really live on 32oz of fluid a day before you just give up. Pat Chapman has been living on this strict diet for three years, and I commend her for that. This is her oppertunity to drink, eat, and live a normal life.

of him and his kidney fast enough.

If this kid was an officer, they wouldn't be doing this crap. Nothing against officers - but that's just how it is in the "Army of One".

Bastards.