Teen awaits organ donor

She remains upbeat while keeping her bags packed.
& lt;a href=mailto:jgoodwin@vindy.com & gt;By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR & lt;/a & gt;.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mallary Maus looks and acts like many other 17-year-old girls.
She enjoys baby-sitting, spending time with younger kids and is involved in youth activities at Youngstown Baptist Church, where she attends with her mother, Machele. She dreams of one day becoming an educator, doctor or social worker.
For Mallary, however, there is an aspect of life that most teens do not ever have to think about -- much less deal with on a daily basis.
Mallary needs a pancreas transplant. She was placed on the waiting list to receive the vital organ in January of this year.
Mallary is one of eight in her age range waiting for a pancreas transplant nationally.
Mallary was diagnosed as diabetic at 2 years old. Insulin injections do not work and the only solution, her mother said, is a pancreas transplant.
Staying ready
Two packed suitcases stay neatly tucked away in a bedroom at the Mauses' West Side home. Machele and Mallary have selected games and music to be played on the way to Cleveland Clinic. A cellular telephone is constantly on and answered immediately.
Machele said a call can come in anytime, telling the family that a matching pancreas has been found. The family would have to get to the hospital quickly for the operation.
According to a Lifebanc Web site, a pancreas must be transplanted within 12 hours of surgical removal for it to remain viable.
"It's just a waiting game now," said Machele. "You just have to wait until they find a match, until then Mallary is in intensive care once a month -- at least once a month."
Dr. Daniel Lebovitz, one of Mallary's physicians, said her visits to intensive care are for diabetic ketoacidosis, where the body gets into trouble from burning fat and protein in place of sugar. He said Mallary must get the diabetes under control or face life-altering conditions such as blindness, heart disease or kidney failure.
Pain
Machele said Mallary is often in pain, but to look at or talk to the smiling teen, most would not know it. She said Mallary sometimes misses out on everyday things because she is either sick or in the hospital.
"Mallary is the perfect example of what joy is because no matter how bad she is or how bad things get, she always has a smile on her face and song in her heart," her mother said.
Mallary said her joy and ability to remain in a good mood come from a higher power.
"This is hard, but there is one Bible verse that I always go to: Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6. I know it's not in my hands; it's in God's hands, and one day it will all be over," she said. That passage says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path."
Stephanie Jansky, community education coordinator at Lifebanc, said only three pancreas transplants were done on people in Mallary's age group last year.
Donor awareness
With Organ Donor Awareness Week beginning Saturday, Jansky said it is imperative that more people in every community become organ donors.
"People have to know when they say yes to donor registry, they are eventually saying yes to giving someone life," she said.
Jansky said there are 85,000 people on lists for organ transplant nationally. There are 1,300 people waiting in the greater Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown and surrounding areas, she said.
As for Mallary, the wait continues, but she insists that the pain caused by her diabetes and the need for a pancreas are softened by family, friends and compassionate doctors. Still, she hopes the wait will not be too long.
& lt;a href=mailto:jgoodwin@vindy.com & gt;jgoodwin@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;