A funny story, or maybe not so funny...

It was either the first or second month after my transplant. I was going back to the transplant clinic twice a week for lab work and follow up. I had to have a third biopsy and I was waiting for the results. I'm setting in the infusion room waiting for the doctor to bring me the results. She comes up to me and says, "Mr. Smith your biopsy shows mild rejection."

She told me that I would have to be admitted to the hospital for a week in order to receive intravenous anti-rejection medication. She asked if I had ever had such and such medication (can't remember the name) before in my life since I already had one transplant. Apparently the drug is so strong and affects your immune system that they have to limit the amount of times you can have it in your entire life. I told her no and I started making arrangements for someone to come from about a hundred miles away to bring me a bag for a week in the hospital.

As I was preparing myself to go be admitted to the hospital the doctor returns and says, "Mr. Smith, I'm so sorry, those were not your biopsy results!" She had to go tell another Mr. Smith that he was going to be admitted to the hospital for a week to receive those drugs.

That's not the first time I've been mistaken for someone with the same name as me. I can look back on it and laugh now but it wasn't funny that day.

[Melirm]

Oh my goodness ! How frightening for you. Poor Mr Smith whoever he is...

Hope your doing ok now.

[Hidden in reply to Melirm]

Melirm,

I was calm and collected that day. I had already had biopsies and been through "acute" rejection. That took was a week of high dose prednisone and I got over it. Sine that second month I have been doing great. Every one of my lab results have been "perfect" as my transplant coordinator says. I'm a year and four months out from my transplant and have had no problems.

[Melirm in reply to Hidden]

Good for you. I’m so pleased things turned out well for you. I am on the transplant waiting list with my fingers crossed. It’s good to hear positive stories about transplantation. Take care .

[RUKIDNEYME]

That is not funny at all, that is how people get the wrong medication in the hospital and how people wind up dying in the hands of careless people. There should of been a verification done before any information is released to the patient. I do not know how many times I have to tell the nurses in the hospital my name and date of birth when they first walk into the room. It should of went like "Hi are you so so and can you verify your date of birth for me".

[Hidden in reply to RUKIDNEYME]

You're right! That's the thing, none of the nurses at Emory say anything to me before asking my name and DOB, and they have an accountability-verification "buddy system" where at least two of them are checking with me verbally, while verifying the information on my wristband, the paperwork, and bag of medication all match. This was the doctor. She is young and probably not that experienced. Doctors definitely need someone to check them as well.