Local man celebrates one year anniversary of new life
Local man celebrates one year anniversary of new life
Nelson Higgins has lived with the possibility that his liver would cease to function for the past 15 years. Two years ago his fears became reality. He needed a liver transplant to save his life.
“I suffered ulcerated colitis when I was in college, and one of the side effects of that problem is liver damage,” he said. “Several years ago I was diagnosed with sclerosing cholangitis, scarring of the liver and bile ducts. I was on the waiting list for a liver transplant for two and a half years. You deal with waiting for an organ by dealing with the present, and realizing that every day is a gift. You live that day like it is a gift. When people hear that you have a liver problem they automatically think it is from alcohol. I never drank.”
Higgins was hospitalized three times from January to March for infections in 2005. The last time he was discharged from a local hospital, the doctor told him to look at options.
“Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., was recommended, because they do the most liver transplants of any hospital in the country, and have the shortest waiting list,” Ruth Higgins, his wife, said. “I was on the phone before we left the local hospital. Within 24 hours the clinic called back and agreed to see Nelson as a candidate for a two week evaluation. Nelson was so sick that I worried how he would make it through two weeks of tests.”
The Higgins own Medicap Pharmacy on Highway 70 in Black Mountain.
Two days into the evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, Higgins began to bleed internally again.
“It took only one week to get Nelson approved for a liver transplant,” Ruth said. “He was bleeding internally all the time. I never panicked, because I felt he was in good hands. The team is completely focused on the patient's needs.”
“Our faith would not let us panic,” Nelson said. “We met each challenge as best we could. After I was approved for a liver transplant, they had to find an organ that was suitable for me. So we were back to waiting.”
Ruth feels a miracle happened on Wednesday night before the transplant took place the following Tuesday.
“Nelson was swollen all over and sick beyond belief,” she said. “My parents were in Florida with me. They went from the hospital back to the motel and talked it over that they weren't sure that Nelson was going to make it through the night. Time was running out for him. He lay in the hospital bed and prepared his funeral. He knew how bad off he was.”
Higgins asked for specific scriptures to be read at his funeral.
“I asked for John 14, the first four verses, Psalm 23, (the Good Shepherd Psalm) and Psalm 121,” he said.
Higgins never lost sight of his desire to return home to the mountains.
“We called a former minister, Dr. Terry Peele, and talked with him,” Ruth said. “Nelson didn't even have enough strength to talk. From that day on, Rev. Peele called every day and talked with me. Nelson spent a lot of time talking about his mother's love and hugs. He shared stories from the time he was a small child to the time he was in the Army. I really thought he was waiting for his mother to come and give him a hug. I knew I would lose him if that happened. At about 3 a.m., he turned to me and said that we needed to get a little sleep, but he wanted to see his star, the North Star, out of the hospital room's window.”
The North Star wasn't visible that particular evening.
“God didn't send me a star, but a whole huge moon,” Nelson said.
“I knew that he was going to be okay,” Ruth said. “I felt it. He stabilized from that point on.”
Higgins knew that most donated livers become available in the early hours of morning.
After the miracle night, Higgins waited only six days until he was wheeled into surgery at 4 a.m. the following Wednesday to receive a new liver. The surgery lasted nine hours, with a transplant team made up of more than 20 doctors attending him.
“Two days after Nelson came out of surgery, the surgeons had to go back in and stop a bleed,” Ruth said. “Three days after that he suffered a systemic infection and a bowel leak. Nelson had to have a bile duct transplanted. The third surgery in a week was the charm. Each of these surgeries lasted from six to eight hours each. Two and a half weeks after the third surgery, he suffered a blood clot in his arm. He simply didn't have an immune system left.”
Higgins was in the Mayo Clinic Hospital for a total of 67 days, and then an outpatient for another two weeks.
“Once I got into the motel as an outpatient, I began to make real progress in getting closer to coming home,” he said.
Higgins' immune system continues to be suppressed, making him careful about catching whatever is going around in the community.
“I wash my hands frequently, and I don't shake hands or hug anyone,” he said. “I realized throughout this whole ordeal that God wasn't finished with me yet. Both Ruth and I grew in our faith during the past two years. We have been touched by so many people and prayers. We turned it all over to God long ago. I thank God every day for giving me another chance at life. I always pray that I will do well by His gift every day. I don't count on tomorrow. None of us are promised tomorrow. No matter how big the obstacle, if you have enough faith, you will find a way to deal with it. What you do with your fate is what you can control. I plan to share the joy of life.”
“I'm still very guarded about him,” she said. “We are about to celebrate the first anniversary of his surgery, and that is a tremendous gift. He is a miracle. I feel that I got a new life along with him. I'd like for us to travel. During the past five to six years, we have been dealing with situations and questions that most people don't face until they are in their 60s and 70s. We have been married 27 years, and I am hopeful for 27 more years.”
“Make sure you discuss your wishes to be an organ donor with your family,” Nelson said. “Also, execute that wish in writing. Remember. Your family has the last call on organ donation. Without a donor, I wouldn't be here.”
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