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--> --> Teen arrives at Stanford for transplant By Gillian Flaccus Associated Press Writer PORTLAND - Brandy Stroeder, the 19-year-old who fought the Oregon Health Plan for the right to a lung-and-liver transplant, arrived Friday at a California hospital for the rare surgery. A spokeswoman at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., said Friday night that Stroeder was prepping for surgery, but added that doctors could call the procedure off at the last minute if the donor organs were damaged. "Brandy is in good condition, but we really won't know about the status of the organs until the team actually retrieves the organs from the donor," said spokeswoman Ruthanne Richter. "They're getting her prepared as if they're going to move forward. But it could be called off at the last minute." Stroeder has cystic fibrosis, a disease that chokes her lungs with mucus and causes other organ damage. Without a transplant, Stroeder would likely die within two years. She now relies on an oxygen tank to breathe. The Oregon Health Plan last year refused to pay for a double transplant, which could cost more than $250,000. Medical experts at the plan, which provides health insurance to Oregon's poor, argued that the operation was experimental. Richter said Friday doctors planned to transplant Stroeder's heart as well as the lungs and liver in a six-hour operation. Jennifer Taft, a child life therapist who has cared for Stroeder for 1{ years, flew with the family to Stanford in an eight-seat private jet after the hospital called around 8 a.m. Friday. Taft said Stroeder was sleeping when the call came. "A man called her and said something like, 'I think we have the organs you've been waiting for," said Taft, who was the fourth person Stroeder called. Stroeder first called her mother, Karen Case, at work, but had to leave a message. She then called two friends before paging Taft at her hospital job. "I got a page that said `Brandy Stroeder holding.' I thought, `What's going on?' She was crying on the phone," Taft said. If doctors proceed with the surgery, Stroeder will stay in Stanford for three months - one month in the hospital's transplant recovery wing and two months in hospital apartments for recovering patients. In October, the McMinnville teen took her case before a three-judge panel of the Oregon Appeals Court. They have not ruled in the case. Stroeder has said getting the state to pay is a matter of principle, so that those who come after her will have an easier time. A community effort led by millionaire motel magnate Mark Hemstreet has already raised $300,000 toward medical costs. Stroeder was given two years to live without the surgery. Hemstreet also offered to fly her to Palo Alto on his private jet when the organs became available and paid for Stroeder's quarterly visits to Stanford. Hemstreet's plane was being used on Friday, so Stroeder flew on another jet courtesy of Premier Jets and Louisiana-Pacific, said Christine Pashley, a spokeswoman for Doernbecher Children's Hospital, where Stroeder got treatment. Eight lung-liver transplants have been performed in the United States. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, only three heart-lung-liver transplants have taken place. Hospital officials said although a donor was available, it is not definite that Stroeder would get the transplant. Once doctors evaluate the donor organs, they will prepare Stroeder for surgery. When she is in the operating room, the medical team will evaluate her medical condition. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing