series of tests and procedures were set up for him to undergo.

Mike began to think that he had read this doctor wrong, after all, he wondered, why would they spend all this time with him if they were not going to help? He had many visits, over 20. These visits involved lab work, nurse visits, kidney function tests, pulmonary tests, heart cathertization, and a colonoscopy. Some of these visits required Mike to be anesthetized, and many involved a great deal of pain and discomfort. By this time Mike had begun to really get his hopes up. After all, why would she take all this time, to run these expensive tests on him if she were not going to do a transplant?

What Mike did not realize was that she had contacted Mike's cardiologist and told her (the cardiologist was also a woman) that she could not do Mike any good. Mike's cardiologist felt that something had to be done for Mike and insisted that Providence continue with the transplant evaluation.

Mike received a telephone call from the clinic. A nurse informed him that his records were being sent to Seattle for a second opinion.

"What the hell is this?" asked Mike. "A second opinion? Does that mean that I am being turned down?"

"Oh no," said the nurse. "We just need some outside input."

"Yeh sure," thought Mike.

Mike's worst fears were finally realized when he finally had a meeting with the Director. She told him: "My opinion has not changed from the first time that I saw you. You are not right for our transplant program."

"Not right?" responded Mike. "Why did you put me through hell? Why all of those tests if I was not right?"

"I was hoping that one of the tests would disqualify you," she responded.

"Did they?" asked Mike

"No," she answered. "That is why the decision was finally made by our interdisciplinary team. I must admit that I am not comfortable with the procedure. I am afraid that at this time, surgery might do more harm than good."

"Harm? Harm? I'm having severe angina," responded Mike. "I can't walk, I can't work, I can't do crap, and you won't help me?"

"I can understand your anger and frustration," said the doctor. "You need to understand that this not just my opinion; it was a team decision. Eventually your arteries will close off and you will have a major heart attack. If you survive, we might then consider you for a transplant, but at the present time our team feels that there is little that we can do for you intervention-wise…."

"Yeh," thought Mike. "I'm shit out of luck."

He went home, opened the mail, and read a newsletter from Providence Heart Institute.

"Considering the high risk of a heart transplant procedure…Providence is delighted with our program's success. Nationally 10 percent of heart transplant patients die perioperatively (immediately before, during, or immediately after surgery)…All of our patients have gone home, all are alive today, most have gone back to work--and one even had a baby."

Mike commented to his wife. "They're cherry picking. I think that they were afraid that I would have screwed up their statistics and ruined their 100%. Hell, I don't want a baby. All I want to do is live a halfway normal life. All I want to do is have a chance to go back to work".

Mike called me up the other night. "Hey Bill, did you see sixty minutes? Some California rapist killer just got a heart transplant. Damn, but I really should be in a California Prison; at least there I would be able to qualify for Mandated Total Medical Care….

"I wonder if I should try and hold up a State Employment Office…?"


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike's personal cardiologist was very much concerned for Mike's well-being. Further tests were run, and two arteries that were previously 75% blocked were now found with blockages in excess of 90%. His doctor knew that something had to be done soon, or else Mike would certainly die. He explained that they would need to do an angioplasty on his circumflex artery. This was an artery in which they had placed a stint in 1996. It was on a curve and the doctor first had to place a guide wire into it. After the wire was placed, they would put in a cutting balloon to do the angioplasty. After the procedure with the