houston – With the news that Memorial Hermann Hospital has suspended its liver and kidney transplant program, many patients and their families are facing anxiety and emotional turmoil.
KPRC2's Rechelle Turner spoke with health psychologist Dr. Glenda Demas. She wanted transplant patients and her family to know they were not alone. She said support is critical because so many people are waiting months or even years to access life-saving organs. She told Mr. Turner about counseling services and the signs her family should be aware of.
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“I highly recommend group therapy for families facing this challenge. It's great to have a support system to help you through a difficult time like this. Other families who have gone through the exact same experience to see how they're getting through this. Now, if you see your loved one feeling a little lonely or having suicidal thoughts, immediately contact a trusted mental health professional. You will want to talk to them and have them provide you with psychological support,” Dr. Demas said.
Dr. Demas says the process is not easy for patients. She talked to Turner about the mental side of knowing whether you need a kidney or a liver and the steps they have to go through.
“This is not something where they sign their name on a list and say, okay, you’re a great candidate, let’s move forward. You have to do, you know, stress tests, they do a lot of blood tests, a lot of doctor's visits that you have to go to regularly to make sure you check in. They need to make sure that all other areas of their health are maintained so that their body is in the state it needs to be to accept this new organ that they're going to get.” said.
Dr. Demas said patients are worried, sad and have great anxiety about what will happen next.
“Every time we put a patient in a situation of hope and then we pull them out of that state of hope and optimism and into a space of confusion and emotional dysregulation, families are put in the position of… We have to find a way to support them. They used to have hope for the positive changes that would happen to them, and now that positivity, that ray of light, is being taken away from them,” she said.
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Dr. Demas is happy to help patients and their families. You can contact her directly at Glenda@pearlsofChange.com. Her website is pearlofchange.com.
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