BY Samuel Goldsmith
Four police departments, two helicopters, one plane and dozens of plows teamed up to get a Long Island woman to her liver transplant surgery - just in the nick of time.
Cancer patient Maryann (Mack) Steinbock's doctor called late Thursday night to tell his patient her year of waiting was over. A liver was finally available - but there were daunting logistical problems before the operation could occur.
The liver was in Buffalo, the patient was in Nassau County, the doctors were in the Bronx, and more than 20 inches of snow were piling up outside.
"We were very concerned," said Dr. Milan Kinkhabwala, head of the liver transplant program at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. "We only had a 12-hour window to operate and it was going to be very close."
The organ was harvested at 4 a.m. Friday, meaning doctors had just under seven hours to get everything ready and still have enough time to complete the five-hour surgery.
"When I got the call, I couldn't believe it," said Steinbock, 59. "I live all the way out in Atlantic Beach, and I had to get to the hospital, and there was all this snow."
Hospital officials in the Bronx got on the phone with the NYPD, who coordinated with Nassau cops and the highway patrol to give Steinbock and her husband a seamless trip across three counties to Montefiore.
"It was like being in a movie," Steinbock said. "All of a sudden, the police come, and there were these cute motorcycle guys. Everybody stopped traffic and there was even a helicopter."
"The drive normally takes an hour," said her husband, Corey Steinbock, 67. "This time it took 35 minutes. I clocked it."
Nassau cop Rob Prince was tasked with driving the police SUV with Steinbock inside.
"She was very calm," Prince said. "We were a little nervous trying to get there, so she started talking about the Mets to calm us down."
The liver was flown in by plane and helicopter, after getting an escort from state troopers, and arrived at the hospital just before Steinbock did. With time winding down, doctors went to work.
"Once we had everything in place the surgery went very well," Kinkhabwala said. "She's doing very well and should be going home later this week."
Corey Steinbock said the quick improvement in his wife's health is remarkable.
"Last week she was pale and all shriveled up. She looked like a ghost," he said. "Now she's like a blossoming flower."
Maryann Steinbock plans to buy tickets for all of her rescuers to accompany her to the Mets' Opening Day at Citi Field. After that, she'll start planning a larger than usual Passover dinner.
"You're all coming for Pesach," she said to the officers at Montefiore yesterday.
"And this summer I want to ride the cute officer's motorcycle.""
Helen Said: What can I say more after reading above article?? "God is good!" is I want to start with. Then thank you so much to all the donors families and also a big thanks to America and American working team...., Well done!!
To all the transplant recipients, please take good care of all these precious presents to all of us. Here are some sharing of donors families.......
" Michele, Donor sister, California
Three weeks ago my 18-year-old brother was killed in a car accident. Once the ER Doctors told us he was gone, my family and I didn't think twice about donating his organs. My grief over his death is very strong, and it's very hard to admit that he isn't coming back. Two days after he died, the Donor Network called us told us that 70 people are going to benefit from my brother's death. So, for all the people out there who are on a list, your time will come. Unfortunately, my brother didn't have a choice in his death. But once he was gone, he helped so many people, and for all I know he's still living in you.
Jean, Donor mother, New Jersey: On October 27, 1999,
I received the phone call no parent wants to receive. I was told my 27-year-old son, Michael, had been in an automobile accident near his job. While being transported to the trauma center with a head injury, he suffered a cardiac arrest. Being a former ICU nurse, I knew how seriously he was injured. What helped our family through those days at the hospital was knowing that Michael had chosen to become an organ donor in the event of his death; sharing that fact just two weeks prior while attending yet another family funeral.
This is not an easy subject for people to hear, but for those 76,000 people on the national waiting list, we are all mandated to talk to whoever will listen.
Claudia, Donor mother: New York
I am a Donor Mom. My son was killed by a drunk driver on May 16, 1999. He was a successful stockbroker and was engaged to be married. I gave all his organs and tissue. Up to 13 people live because of his gifts. Crippled children walk, and two women burned in a house fire are alive due to his tissue gifts. "
Again thank you to all the donors family.
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