Last week Erika and her mom said goodbye to some good friends! Kari and her son Alex live in Montana. Alex also has Cystic Fibrosis and was transplanted at UWMC in January, receiving 2 lungs AND a new liver! Alex and Erika were connected by one of their home IV nurses from Spokane. Alex recently experienced some speed bumps in his recovery and was back in Seattle for the past couple weeks being treated. Luckily, he was released to go home on Friday.
Kari and Audrey have a lot in common! As CF moms, and now transplant moms and full time caregivers, they face a lot of the same challenges. It has been so amazing for them to spend time together and have a break from the hospital life.
While Alex was getting cared for in the hospital, the three ladies were able to have a few coffee dates and also go on walks together. It is so important to find people to connect with throughout this process that can relate to the journey. Audrey and Erika have found a lifelong friend in Kari, and are eager to get the opportunity to meet Alex at some point.
Side note: patients with Cystic Fibrosis are not allowed to be near each other due to the danger of passing bad CF bacteria to one another (we will make another post later about all that). Since Erika and Alex both have squeaky clean new lungs that are CF free, they have been approved by the transplant center to meet each other.
Although Kari and Alex are headed back home, they will all keep in touch regularly. Audrey and Erika wanted to share a picture of one of the walks they did with Kari as they send them off to Montana, just in time for them to celebrate Alex turning 30!! Hopefully all of their future meetings will be under circumstances where all parties involved are happy and healthy!
How amazing is it for young people like Alex and Erika to get a second chance at life all because of organ donation and the miracles of modern medicine?! As always, please consider registering to become an organ donor if you aren’t already. Also, have a conversation about organ donation with your loved ones, so that they might also choose to become a donor.