My double lung transplant/ October 6, 2019:
My journey started in 2013 when I began to have shortness of breath. I had a cardiac catheterization in 2015 but the doctors didn't recognize at that time that my Pulmonary pressure was too high. In 2018 I became very Ill at my daughter's when we went to see the Atlanta gardens. It was hot and there were inclines and I collapsed. Another cardiac catheterization later and I was diagnosed with Pulmonary hypertension. I was put on medicine after medicine but nothing brought my pressures down, in fact they became sky high at 130-150. The PAH meds were wicked awful with side effects that had me vomiting throughout the day. I was short of breath, fainting and had severe heart failure. Fast forward to 2019 and I began my eval for double Lung transplant. I never really believed I was dying. I kept working at my private psychotherapy practice. I thought no one knew I was sick, turns out everyone knew! I just didn’t identify as a sick person. One day I came home from work and collapsed completely. I was in ICU for acute heart and respiratory failure. I couldn't see people but could hear. A sheer white curtain seemed to be in front of me. They said I could die any minute. They put Me on the list on Friday and Sunday morning said I had a pair of lungs! I would say the surgery and recovery took a heavy toll on my adult kids. It's been rocky with the episodes of pneumonias and rejections as well as CMV. I had a fundoplication which was hard to recover from. I lost forty pounds. And I have a Mycobacterial infection requiring two daily IV infusions as well as other antibiotics. My kidneys are failing. I don’t want to be negative because there is this: every day, I’m alive. Without the transplant I couldn’t call my kids or hug my husband. I couldn’t hear the rain or see the sky or smell the ocean. One more year with my grand baby. It’s all priceless. Every day is a gift! Don’t waste it. Take a nice big bite of every moment you are given because you don’t get another one just like this. I consider myself very lucky and grateful, especially to my wonderful donor. Rock on!