SONIA SOLINAS
Sonia Salinas lived an energetic life – active in her community,
busy with her family, involved with her parish. During the summer of 1996, two
lively young grandchildren came to visit for several weeks, leaving her
exhausted. But months after they left, Sonia could still not get her energy
back. She remained fatigued, suffered nausea and began having trouble with
swollen feet.
On December 23rd, she woke to discover that swelling
had engulfed her body. Rushed to Brooke Army Medical Center, Sonia was shocked to
be diagnosed with end stage liver disease. An undiagnosed case of hepatitis C
had silently damaged her liver. For the next year and half, Sonia was extremely
ill. She suffered multiple hospitalizations, infections, and fluid around her
lungs and heart. Worse still, she developed encephalopathy – a deterioration of
brain function that occurs because toxins normally removed with healthy liver
function build up in the blood system and reach the brain. Sonia credits her
husband, family and strong faith as the ropes that held her together.
Sonia had been so sick she was not even eligible for a transplant
during this time. Then her condition improved enough for her to place her name
on the transplant waiting list. She signed the necessary papers on August 27th.
That very evening, as she was washing the dishes, Sonia received the news that
there was a liver available for her.
Sonia calls the moment ‘indescribable.’ In the midst of all this
euphoria and joy, she realized, “We were crying for joy and someone, somewhere
was mourning their loss.”
