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
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Thieves use stolen forklift to rip cash machine out of U.K. bank
Police in the U.K. are searching for a group of suspects seen on video using a forklift to steal a cash machine from a bank.
'There was a lot of black smoke': Crane operator sounds alarm while trapped during highrise fire in Halifax
A tower crane operator alerted emergency crews after noticing a fire on a construction site in Halifax Tuesday morning.