European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday May 30, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 9transplant is baby s last hop Cash strapped go family awaits liver donor by Janet ii Owells Tierney Washington Bureau Washington Michelle. Deen Coos and giggles like most 6-month-Olds. And when she wants one of her brother a toys she performs a sideways Roll to reach it delighting her parents. But Michelle is not a Normal baby. Her skin and the Whites surrounding her Blue eyes arc yellow and she. Often doubles up in pain from stomach cramps. She has rubbed her skin raw scratching a persistent Lgth. Michelle Sliver is missing a bile duct. As a result bile a bitter liquid backs up into her liver. The diseased liver has developed cirrhosis the Little girl will die if she docs not get a liver transplant doctors say. German doctors in Erlanger Germany diagnosed Michelle a illness in january while her father was deployed to saudi Arabia. A sgt. Elbert Deen a wheeled vehicle repairman had been assigned to co. A 47th support in 1st army div in Erlanger which left for saudi Arabia on Dep. 31. He returned Home in mid january after learning of Michelle a condition a it was really a Shock a Deen said. A when i left the baby was about 9 weeks old and in Good Michelle was born with jaundice a condition caused by increased amounts of bile pigments in the blood. But doctors told the Deens that she was healthy. A paediatrician later discovered during a routine checkup. That Michelle had an enlarged liver. She was admitted to the . Hospital at Nurnberg and later transferred to the Erlanger University Hospital for tests. The tests showed that something was seriously wrong. Doctors decided to do a liver Biopsy. A red Cross message reached Elbert Deen on Jan. 18 when his unit was 10 Miles from the kuwaiti Border. He was Back in Germany several Days later but it was not a festive Homecoming. The Day after his return the Hospital performed the liver Biopsy and made a tentative diagnosis. A the German doctors wanted us to wait eight More weeks so they could do another Biopsy but 1 went to the american Hospital and asked them to Contact Walter Reed army medical Center in Washington , said. A a doctors at Walter Reed advised that Michelle be. Brought to them immediately because of a special surgical procedure that could be performed to temporarily open the bile duct. The Deens were told the surgery could allow their baby to thrive for As Long As five years without a liver transplant. Michelle began a three week stay at Walter Reed on feb. 11. Doctors found that it was too late to perform the life enhancing surgery. The baby a Only Lich Kllc Chance now is a liver transplant. The Deen family which includes Daniel 0, and Jessica 4, was granted a compassionate reassignment has moved into housing at Aberdeen proving ground my. There they arc closer to civilian medical facilities where the transplant surgery would be per formed. A. It a this kind of turned our lives around 100 percent a said Deen a Preston md., native. A a it a got us scared. Nothing is for the infant was. Placed on the list for a liver with the Pittsburgh transplant foundation earlier this month said foundation spokesman Bryan broznick.,a Only god knows when a. Suitable liver May be donated a Broznick said. A in the Lew years the need for donated organs has More than doubled but the number of donors has a suitable liver for Michelle must match her Sie. And blood Type he soon she will receive an Organ also depends on How sick she is Many others arc ahead of her. Michelle at a bit Over 17 pounds and 28 inches a Long is half the size of other babies her age. Her blood Type is a positive. could be anywhere from two hours to years a. Broznick said. The Deens know time is running out. Doctors said most babies with the disease which occurs once in every 20,000 births Only live six to 12 months without a transplant. The civilian health and medical program of the uniformed services or champs will cover most of the surgical costs but the Deens expect to have to pay More than $15,000 As their share of the medical expenses. Such costs Mav include $320 a month to rent a heart Monitor and $ it a per month for a feeding pump if doctors decide Michelle needs to beefed . With no savings or other assets to fall Back on they figure they will Quot have to borrow to pay any medical costs. A a a. A a a. A the stress Factor is High a Deen said. A a we re trying to keep things Normal its going to be a Day by Day. Thing for a a family Friend Angelika Meghan has set up an a count in Michelle a name at the Furth Branch of Mei chants Bank to help Pav the medical expenses. The account number is 627bh2l<sh. A. Contributing to this report St nth Waltor Oftle Anthon in Nurnberg Pope names 2 americans 20 others cardinals Vatican City apr Pope John Paul ii named 22 new cardinals wednesday including the archbishops of los Angeles and Philadelphia clergy from Romania and Czechoslovakia and the Bishop of Berlin. The new american cardinals on the list Are archbishops Roger Mahony of los Angeles and Anthony Bivilacqua of Philadelphia. Those cities Are generally headed by clergy of Cardinal rank. The Pope named cardinals from Marseilles France Kinshasa Zaire Santo Domingo dominican Republic Buenos Aires Argentina Guadalajara Mexico Armagh Ireland and Sion Switzerland. His announcement came during a general audience in the Paul i auditorium. He said he would formally elevate the new cardinals on june 28 at the Vatican. The new a princes Quot of the Church also include top Vatican officials. The Pope said he was elevating two ital ians the Vatican Secretary of state archbishop Angelo Sodano and the head of the. Office of Catholic education and former envoy to the United states archbishop Pio Laghi. Also named was australian archbishop Edw Ard Cassidy president of the pontifical Council for. The promotion of Christian Unity. A moving to strengthen the emerging Church in former communist countries of Eastern Europe the Pope gave a Cardinal red hat to archbishop Alexandru Todea of Fagarasz and Alba Giulia Romania and to Bishop Jan Chrysostom Koree of Nitra key figures elevated Are the Bishop of Berlin monsignor Georg s Rezinsky and the primate of Ireland archbishop Cahal Daly of Armagh who has jurisdiction Over the Church in both the Irish Republic and the British ruled North. Armed group attacks Moscow apr a lithuanian customs checkpoint on the byelorussian Border was raided tuesday night by an arme a band of about 15 people Druc sed in nr1 uniforms and civilian clothes a Par lit tary spokeswoman said wednesday \ a the attack followed a Resolution by the supreme Council parliament condemning the presence of soviet Interior ministry troops the a Black berets in the Republic and recent raids on Border posts. Spuck woman Rita Dapkus said a truck with approximately 15 passengers armed with automatic weapons drove up to the Lavor Iskes customs Post on the Sian order. A a the attackers kicked and heavily beat the guards using the butt end of the automatic rifles a Dapkus said by Telephone from the capital of Vilnius. Afterwards they set fire to the Post she said. Two of the four guards required hospitalization Dapkus said. The supreme Council Resolution tuesday branded the soviet Interior ministry troops As outlaws and called for their punishment under lithuanian Law. The Resolution did not say How the republics intended to carry out the prosecutions. In recent weeks soviet troops have conducted at least 14 raids on Baltic Border checkpoints run by the republics govern ment two people have died in the attacks. Athe customs checkpoints were put up after the republics of Lithuania Latvia and Estonia declared Independence in 1990, moves that were rejected by the Kremlin. Baltic leaders warn the incidents will provoke a violent response that might serve As a pretext for military crackdowns similar to those in january when soviet troops killed More than 20 people in Lithuania and Latvia. Soviet Interior minister Boris Pugo in a report submitted to the National legislature tuesday said two attacks May 23 and May 24 were Legal a in general because soldiers were protecting a interests of citizens and the state a the Independent news Agency . However Pugo. Also said the operations were taken a without the knowledge and order of the .s.r. Interior ministry a and said investigators had been sent to the republics. Computer virus surfaces As Beijing up1 chinese authorities Are working to prevent the spread of an unusual form of protest to Mark the second anniversary of the Tiana men Square crackdown a a computer virus. According to chinese sources and foreign business executives in the chinese capital the virus has appeared in some Beijing computer systems during the week before june 3-4, the anniversary of the crackdown against the 1989 democracy movement. The virus causes the words a remember june 4&Quot to appear on a users computer screen. The origin of the virus is unknown the sources said. A virus is a rogue program that infiltrates a computer system generally through interfaces with other computers. C. Police and other officials Are working to prevent the spread of the a june 4 virus a which has so far surfaced in computers in chinese business offices the sources said. A a they re taking this very seriously a said a foreign businessman familiar with the situation. A a we be heard some chinese companies May even shut Down their computers for a few Days next China a Public Security ministry the National police Agency set up a computer crime and anti virus unit two years ago to handle such cases after the first computer virus appeared in the country which has an estimated 400,000 computers. Officials at the ministry had no immediate comment. A a we be heard about this but it does no to seem to be too widespread so far a said a private chinese computer expert. ,.a something like this is not Dili cult to make its quite easy to insert the words into software a the expert said. A but it does no to Hurt the computer system too Many viruses have the ability to disrupt computer systems or erase stored information
