Well, I got a really out of the blue call today. Remember Frank McGrath? When I got to work this morning I had a voicemail from him. It’s been a year since his transplant and he called to say thank you. I’m forwarding you his message.

After hearing the voicemail, I was curious about how Mr. McGrath was doing, so I called Dr. Schaffer to get an update on his progress. I thought you might be interesting in what she told me.

Dr. Schaffer has been seeing Mr. McGrath regularly since the surgery; overall, he’s doing well. After being discharged from the hospital, Mr. McGrath went directly home. Sounds like the first few weeks were pretty tough. He didn’t have any post-operative complications, though he was weak and had little appetite. Once he began eating better, he started to regain his strength and heal more quickly.

Mr. McGrath has reached a maintenance phase in his immunosuppressant treatment. As you know, weight gain is a common side effect for patients on immunosuppressant medication, and Mr. McGrath is no exception. In the months following his surgery, he put on about 15 pounds. In the last month or so, Dr. Schaffer says he’s been monitoring his diet closely and walking every day, both of which have helped him take the weight off.

He started treatment for his Hepatitis C about 6 months ago, but the progress there has been quite slow. After a few months of no response to the treatment, Dr. Schaffer changed his medication and he’s finally seeing some results. Dr. Schaffer sounds optimistic that the Hep C will reach an undetectable level soon. Happily, Mr. McGrath hasn’t had any symptoms of liver disease since the transplant.

Overall, Mr. McGrath is recovering well. Dr. Schaffer asked me to pass along the good news and to thank you again for your work on this case.

Dr. Jordan Casey

Attending Physician
Lincoln Regional Medical Center