Hi everyone, I cannot thank you all enough for all the contributions to COTA. They have already helped me to cover some of my transplant expenses.   

As many of you may have already heard, I received a double lung transplant on April 4th, AND after a two and a half month stay in the hospital I am finally home!!!!

I was blessed with an amazing surgeon and transplant team who saw me through the difficult procedure.  I awoke some days later with a breathing tube. It took some time but I slowly learned to breath on my own, and eventually the tube was removed.  

My body was in a lot of pain, weak from the surgery and lack of nutrition. I struggled to eat, and became weaker.  I had to have a nasogastric tube inserted down my nose to feed me. This happened multiple times throughout my stay in the hospital, and I can honestly say it never gets easier! 

I experienced multiple infections, including sepsis, and ended up back in the ICU twice. My kidneys struggled to work, and I ended up with edema, which caused me to gain over 30 pounds of water weight!  Which made everything more difficult, including breathing. On top of it all, I struggled with terrible anxiety, twitches, and awful hand cramps, which turned out to be side effects from the medications. 

Through it all, I maintained my hope and faith that things would work out.  At one point, the transplant team asked me how I was feeling. My response was, “I feel like I’m riding a wave, and eventually, some day I will reach the shore.”  

Being home feels so wonderful. I still spend a large portion of my time at the hospital, as I have to see the doctor twice a week, along with pulmonary rehab to build my strength.  I have a long way to go until I am fully recovered. But I have come a long way since the early hours of April 4th.  

Lung transplant is a life long journey, and I am incredibly thankful to have been given the opportunity to breath again. I hope I will be able to honor the donor of my lungs, by living fearlessly as my true self.