Former Ottawa nurse in liver failure after accidental needle prick
Former Ottawa nurse Pam Hopkins-Dargavel is seriously ill. Her liver is failing because of an accidental needle prick 32 years ago. She is in desperate need of a liver transplant and a living donor could make all the difference.
“It’s more difficult than I ever dreamt it would be,” says Hopkins-Dargavel. “I had a very sick patient that needed the needle capped very quickly. And I put it right through my hand.”
The patient was a hemophiliac who received Hepatitis C tainted blood, which was then transferred to Hopkins-Dargavel.
Her most recent treatment for Hepatitis C was successful, but her liver is too severely damaged to recover.
“So our hope was once she kicked the Hep C there would be enough good liver for the liver to regenerate and go back to normal liver function,” says her husband Greg. “However, the psoriatic liver has so much scaring in it, that the liver can’t do its own self healing.”
For the past six months, Hopkins-Dargavel has been undergoing full blood transfusions every month. Extremely tired, she sleeps most of the day.
“She now has the liver of a 95-year-old alcoholic, despite the fact she was never a drinker,” says Greg.
Hopkins-Dargavel desperately needs a liver transplant, hopefully from a live donor.
“But unfortunately, I have a very rare blood type,” says Hopkins-Dargavel.
That blood type is B, which means she can only accept a liver from anyone with blood type O+, O-, B+ or B- between the ages of 16 and 60 and in good health. The donor does not need to be a relative or the same ethnicity.
Heather Badenoch is a living liver donor. Four years ago, she donated 22 per cent of her liver to save a child’s life.
“I had a terrific recovery, and life for me was basically back to normal within a month,” says Badenoch. “My own liver, following donation, would start regrowing on day two, full function by day 10, and was back to full volume within weeks.”
Pam and Greg are avid sailors and they are hoping a transplant will get them back on the water, with the wind in their sails, doing what they love.
“I’m hoping to get a transplant and to get back to some of my physical activities,” says Hopkins-Dargavel.
If you’d like to help, you can visit the public Facebook page for Pam’s search for a donor or the University Health Network’s Living Liver Donor Program.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.