“I thank my donor every day for this gift”: Member Laura shares her lung transplant story

Meet LaurCT, an active 2015-2016 Team of Advisors alum living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). She underwent a left lung transplant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston in January and recently shared her experience with us.

How are you feeling these days? 

I am feeling great. I’ve had a couple bumps in the road but nothing that the transplant team hasn’t seen before, and [they] handle it immediately. It was scary for me but the team is great in communicating that these [post-transplant] issues happen to some and not to worry. I like that communication because it sets my mind at ease.

How long had you been a candidate for a lung transplant? 

I was evaluated at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in January of 2014 and accepted into their transplant program. At the time, I was classified as too healthy to be listed, however I was being watched and met with them every four to six months. In October 2016, BWH suggested I be re-presented and get listed on UNOS (the United Network for Organ Sharing waiting list) for a transplant. After finishing some additional testing, I was listed in Boston Region 1 on December 16, 2016. I also finished the evaluation process at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia around the same time and about December 8, 2016, I was listed on their regional UNOS list for a transplant.

You shared in the forum about having a “dry run” in December 2016, when you were called in as a backup candidate for a transplant but the lungs went to another person. How did you feel when that first call fell through for you? 

As I said in the forum, my daughter and I went to NY Presbyterian with no expectations. While driving, we were calm and I think we both knew this would be a dry run. We didn’t even really call anyone to let them know we were heading there. It gave me comfort to know that the person who needed those lungs the most got them. Many times the lungs are not usable and these are now breathing in someone’s body, giving him or her the gift of life.

What was it like to get “THE CALL” again, leading up to your actual transplant? 

January 6 was a difficult day for me emotionally. We terminal patients have those days, accept them, then put on a happy face for our loved ones. My daughter made supper (not a usual thing – haha) and we were just about ready to sit down to eat. It was 5:30 p.m. My phone rang and without looking at it, we knew. My daughter got up and went upstairs to get ready as I was answering the phone.

I was a primary [candidate] for a left lung, and we knew in our hearts this was it. We headed to Boston immediately. I headed into surgery at 11 a.m. on January 7, 2017. While I was in surgery, my daughter received a call from NY Presbyterian saying they had a lung for me. That rarely happens, if ever. My journey was meant to begin on January 7 at BWH. That was the day there was a 25-car pile-up on the way to New York. I would have never made it in time [for the transplant there].

Can you share some more of your transplant surgery experience with us?

I know that when I woke up after surgery I did not have any pain – I still have not had any pain. They put me on .5 liter of oxygen after, and when I woke in ICU, I took it off. I was breathing on my own from the beginning. My surgery finished at 5 p.m. (ish) on January 7. I did everything they told me to and was released to go home on January 13. Six days after a left lung transplant. This was meant to be.

 

What has been the most difficult or surprising part of your recovery? 

I had a couple of bumps in the road but those were nothing. I need to stress that the most difficult part is the emotions for me and for my caregiver. We don’t stress the caregiver enough. As my daughter said, the prednisone has turned her 66-year-old mother into an adolescent child at times. That is difficult for any caregiver to handle. It’s a 24-hour job for them. We just need to recover, but we can’t do it without them. I’m blessed to have her and she says we will get through this because the alternative is not an option.

You’ve referred to transplant day as “Miracle Day.” What would you say to your organ donor? And to people considering organ donation? 

I wake in the morning and thank my donor and the donor family every day for this gift. I never thought about organ donation much until a friend of mine needed a kidney and then I needed a lung. Doctors perform miracles every day not only by transplanting an organ but using the right combination of drugs to keep our body from rejecting it. Giving the gift of life to someone else is the most selfless act someone can make, and those of us who need it will forever be grateful. I plan to honor that donor by doing my part in staying alive.

How will you use PatientsLikeMe now that you’ve had a lung transplant? 

I’ve been pretty vocal [asking] about the post-transplant experience when a few of the PatientsLikeMe folks had their transplant. It’s the only piece that we don’t seem to share. I get it – I’m about two months post-transplant and I’m trying to recover. I plan to keep giving back. I will begin posting/blogging again about my experience so others also will know that whatever is happening post-transplant, some others have the same issues. Sharing our experiences and our data is important, and it makes us feel less alone. People like John_R, who I talk to – he says he has had the same experience or experienced something else. It helps those of us who follow to get through it.

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