Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lori and I would like to thank everyone for their continuing prayers and support. We hope that everyone had a great Christmas, and we wish the very best for everyone in the new year.

We both had a merry Christmas, and we were overwhelmed with all the cards and presents that we received from friends and members of French Broad Valley Baptist Church. We appreciate very much all your generous cards and gifts. We are so blessed to feel such love from friends, church members and members of the local community that continues even while we are away from home. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

My family and I wish everyone Merry Chrismas! We are all doing well, and I am still waiting for a multivisceral (small bowel, liver, pancreas, stomach and duodenum) transplant. I have been on the active candidate waiting list for this type of transplant since February 1, 2008. I do not want anyone to think that I am too sick to live a normal life because that couldn't be further from the truth. I still do everything that I did before except that I just can't travel more than 4 hours travel distance from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. I visit the hospital usually twice a week on average for blood tests, clinic visits, or routine medical procedures. Usually once every 3 months, I have a "shuntagram" for my doctor to determine if an artificial tube (shunt) in my body is directing blood from my intestines to flow away from liver and directly into my venae cavae. In summary, my health is well.

I hope that everyone out there is doing well, and that everyone remembers the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins so that we may have eternal life. John 3:16. That is the best gift that I have ever received.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Still waiting for transplant

I just wanted to say hello to everyone back home. I appreciate very much all the prayers, messages, cards, and calls that people have sent me the last few months. I miss Tennessee, and I am anxious to see everyone again. I have been in Pittsburgh for over 6 months now, and I heard that home is starting to look a lot different than it did in February because of all the new construction and developments that have been started. I even heard that the giant hill near Exit 407 where the new development is going to be built is nearly gone. I want to get back soon before the area is unrecognizable. lol

I have been doing well the last two months. On July 26, Loredana (Lori) and I got married at Highland Park in Pittsburgh. We are both doing well, and we have already completed the necessary applications for Lori's residency with the Citizenship and Immigration Services. My mom and dad, who are living in Pittsburgh with us, are both doing well too.

Since artificial stints were placed in my mesocaval shunt on June 30, my health has been good. I am able to do everyday tasks and also walk for exercise quite regularly. I have been very fortunate so far in that I do not have to use a feeding tube like many multivisceral organ transplant candidates, and I even look like a healthy person. If I am able to receive a transplant in the very near future, I have a great chance for it to be successful, and my post-transplant recovery time could be shortened. I am ready for this transplant, and I am determined to do everything that I can to make it a success.

I want to beg everyone of you who are not registered as organ donors to become an organ donor by visiting these websites: www.TNDonorRegistry.org and www.DonateLifeTN.org ......... TODAY! After you do so, make your decision to become an organ donor 1) known and 2) crystal-clear to your closest relatives that this is your choice. If you are not a Tennessee resident, you can visit www.donatelife.net and click on your state of residence. This information was kindly provided by Lisa Clark of the Department of Safety/CC Liaison Tennessee Donor Services.

I hope that everyone is doing well, and I cannot wait to see everyone again. Take care and God bless!

June 30, 2008 Procedure

Earlier today, I underwent another medical procedure in which stints were placed in my mesocaval shunt to help keep the shunt from becoming blocked in the future. The procedure went very well, and I am feeling very well. Even though the procedure was a tremendous success, I was not discharged today. My doctor wanted me to spend the night in the hospital for observation. I thought this moment would be a good time to multi-task by posting a blog entry and watching "Goldeneye" on the Spike Channel at the same time. lol

The doctor inserted shunts in order to reduce the number of times that my mesocaval shunt will have to be opened using balloon dilation in the future. Right before the procedure, I asked the doctor if the shunt could still become blocked with stints, and he said that there was still that possibility... but that the stints will decrease that chance. If there is blockage, there still is a chance that the shunt (with the stints) could be reopened with balloon dilation. However, the real solution to my medical problems, is the multi-organ transplant.

Please keep my family and me in your thoughts and prayers, and thank you all for your care and support. I hope to get back to Tennessee very soon. Please remember to become an organ donor if you have not already done so!!!!!

Latest procedure on June 4, 2008

I underwent another medical procedure on June 4, 2008 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. One of my doctors checked whether my shunt, which carries blood flow from my intestines to the venae cavae, was blocked by any blood clots. There was some blockage in the shunt, and the doctor used balloon dilation to clear the blockage. The procedure lasted a little over an hour, and I was discharged from the hospital a few hours later. On June 30, 2008, I will have a stint(s) placed in the shunt to make blockage less likely in the future.

The shunt is an artificial tube which was placed in my body in November 2004 to connect the blood vessels from my intestines directly to the venae cavae, the main blood vessel providing blood to my heart. The shunt was intended to be a temporary solution to allow most of the blood flow which normally flows through my liver to bypass my liver and flow directly to the venae cavae. The original plan was to use the shunt in conjunction with blood thinning medication to dissolve the blood clots (that had developed in the blood vessels to my liver) to eventually allow blood to flow through my liver again. The shunt was periodically checked and worked well until December 2005. Since then, the shunt on several occasions had been blocked and needed to be opened again. Upon the advice of my doctor at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, I was evaluated for a multi-organ transplant by one of the nation's top liver transplant surgeons at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The liver transplant surgeon recommended that I have the multi-organ transplant, and I moved to Pittsburgh in order to participate in the multi-organ transplant program at the University of Pittsburgh.

I would like everyone back home to know that I am doing well, and that I would really like the opportunity to have the multi-organ transplant soon. I feel like there is nothing wrong with me, and that I can do everything that I did before I left Tennessee. However, I also know that I need the multi-organ transplant and that now is the time to do it, while my health is still well. Thank you for all your concern and prayers, and I hope to see everyone very soon. Take care and remember to become organ donors.

Hospital procedure on April 14, 2008

On Monday, April 14, I was in the hospital again for another procedure. My doctor wanted to see if the artificial shunt which was placed in my body in 2004 is still open and allowing much of the blood which flows from my intestines to flow directly into the main artery which supplies blood to my heart. It was an out-patient procedure, and I was only given medication for pain which allowed me to stay awake during the procedure. The doctor was able to see that there is some blockage from blood clotting, and he was able to clear the shunt allowing blood to flow through the shunt again. After the procedure, I was taken to a recovery room for a few hours and was discharged from the hospital later that day. I will continue to have the shunt evaluated every couple of months while I wait to receive news of available organs for a transplant surgery.

I want everyone to know that I feel fine, and that my health is good especially when compared to other people who are awaiting to receive liver and small bowel transplants. My mom is also doing well, and we are both enjoying the warm weather that has finally arrived in the Pittsburgh area. My family and I very much appreciate all the prayers, e-mails, cards and support that has been given to me by so many people. We ask that you keep us in your prayers, and also that everyone become organ donors as soon as possible. I hope everyone back home is doing well, and I hope to hear from anyone who gets a chance to send an e-mail. Take care.

Thank you all!!!

Recent hospital stay

The past week has been very busy. I was in the hospital for a few days to deal with some internal bleeding, but I was released on March 12 and am doing well now. In addition, my mom and I are making arrangements to move to a different apartment complex.

My new address will be: 635 East Waterfront Drive
Apartment 5113
Munhall, PA 15120

We are both doing well, and we are both looking forward to me receiving a transplant soon. We both miss everyone back home and want to be able to go back to Tennessee. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. If you have a chance, e-mail me at jsell71@msn.com.

Benefit on Thursday

Several people told me about the benefit at the Main Stay Suites on Thursday, February 28. I wish that I could have been there on Thursday, but I had to remain in the Pittsburgh area in case I received a call that organs were available. I heard that there were a lot of people there, and that everything went extremely well. I am very grateful that several people have shown their concern and support for me for the last few months, and I feel very lucky to be from an area where people take care of one another when someone is going through a difficult time. I am also grateful to several family members and friends who worked very hard to organize the event. I am very grateful for all their efforts in making the benefit the tremendous success that it was. Thanks to everyone!!

Pittsburgh adventure

My mom and I drove from Sevierville to Pittsburgh on Friday. We moved into the Shadyside Commons apartment complex, and started organizing the apartment and our belongings. The neighborhood where we are staying is really nice and is close to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where my transplant will occur. On Saturday, we drove around the area to do some exploring and to buy some things we need for the apartment. We made several trips to the Target and to Giant Eagle, the supermarket chain for this area. We both really miss home already, but we will be fine. I hope everyone back home is doing well.

A benefit dinner and auction is being held on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at Main Stay Suites in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. from 6pm to 9pm with live entertainment by Jimbo Whaley & Greenbrier plus others.

Auction Items include:

1995 Jeep Wrangler 4x4
36” LCD TV
2 - Indianapolis Colts jerseys autographed by Peyton Manning
Several 7-day Vacation getaways
Fly fishing trip to the Smoky Mountains
Autographed sports memorabilia
Usage of Smokies Skybox (single game)
4 Disneyworld Tickets
Pottery sink
Robert Tino Giclee.......too many to list them all.

Silent Auction items include 2-night getaways, gift baskets, theatre tickets and much more.

Door prizes will be given away every 15 minutes.

For more information, email helpforjohn@gmail.com