Enio Roquel had been signed up as an organ donor for the past 25 years.
“But I never thought I’d be a recipient,” Roquel said. The 51-year-old man of Destrehan received confirmation of his worst fears after falling very ill in January. Roquel had been diagnosed with cirrhosis and he needed a liver transplant. Without one, he was told, he would have “maybe a year to live.”
“It’s tough to hear that,” Roquel said. “I never knew how long I’d have to wait. I was just trying to stay alive.”
Today, Roquel is a man with a new lease on life — he received a successful transplant in April and his health has been improving since. Navigating the road to that point, however, was not an easy one emotionally.
“He never knew if his next day could be his last,” said his daughter Natalia. “It was very difficult for him.”
When Roquel was initially diagnosed with liver disease in September of last year, he was put on a strict diet and had to take medication for his recovery. However, things took a major turn for the worse, noted Natalia, after Roquel was prescribed medication that worsened the problem. His liver quickly decreased in function, and on one day in January, he was found unresponsive and had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment.
“Unfortunately, in the process of treatment, wrong medication was given to my father. It made his liver worse,” Natalia said. “It was extremely scary.”
At the hospital, Enio received the grim news of his prognosis without a liver transplant. At that point, the clear goal was to be put on the transplant list, but given the urgency of the situation, the uncertainty surrounding the situation created a very stressful environment.
“I never knew anyone who had a transplant of any kind,” Enio said. “I didn’t know how long you might have to wait or what the real chances of receiving a transplant would be.”
Natalia said the family was reassured by doctors that they’d try to get Enio “as high as (they) could” on the list, but that nothing was guaranteed. It could take a couple of months; or, as a friend of the Roquels endured during another medical plight, it could take even longer.
“Our friend told us it was about two years,” Natalia said. “So many emotions … we were excited, scared and very hopeful, but it was still stressful. Just now knowing if he’d make it through it.”
It was also a process to even get on the waiting list. For the next 2-/2 months, Enio waited for confirmation that he had been placed on, with his wife of 32 years, Isa, determined to make it a reality.
In the meantime, stressful as it was, the Roquels weren’t interested in letting Enio’s time go to waste.
“We cherished every moment together … even something simple like family dinners,” Natalia said. “We’d go with him to his doctor’s appointments. It brought us all closer together.”
Finally, Enio learned he was put on the transplant list, and thankfully, this time his wait was not as arduous.
“They called me on a Monday to tell me I was on, and by that Thursday they told me they could perform the transplant,” he said.
After a six-hour surgery in April, there were no complications. His body responded well to his new liver.
“I’m so thankful to the donor who gave my father this gift of life,” Natalia said. “It was awesome to see him receive a second chance at life and to see everyone in our family come together around him.”
That said, while Enio’s recovery is ongoing, his sudden illness left he and his family financially strained. Medical bills stemming from the transplant, as well as expensive medication costs and Enio’s inability to work during his recovery have all contributed to that issue, and Natalia has set up a GoFundMe account (gofundme.com/enios-liver-transplant-fund, titled Enio’s Liver Transplant Fund) for those who would like to help.
“There are so many medications and tests, even now,” Natalia said. “To make sure his liver is responding well and that his levels are good. Some of those medications cost hundreds of dollars, and he has to take them each day.”
But while that financial issue has added a concern, it’s a far cry from where Enio and his family were earlier this year.
“I definitely look at life a different way since then,” Enio said. “I’ve been married for 32 years. You very much want to have a family and provide for them, and it’s about work, work, work … about making a living, buying a house, buying a car. Then this thing, and it becomes simply about staying alive. I received a second chance, and you start to realize money isn’t everything.
“You have family, friends … you start to understand the need to thank God for what you’ve got.”
Be the first to comment