I have been continuously having bronchoscopies every 3-4 weeks. It’s very rare and unheard of that a lung transplant patient needs constant airway dilations. I sure hope that someone is writing a medical paper about me at this point. Some nurses that help me during pre-op mention that there are other patients that come in monthly, but they are few and far between. Certainly, I’ve never heard of another person with 30 bronchs in the books. I follow so many individuals on Facebook and Instagram that have had transplants or are suffering from cystic fibrosis. I enjoy the community and sharing online when it would otherwise be impossible.

My last bronch was on December 9th. My surgeon decided to try something new, since all the “normal” procedures weren’t doing anything to keep me from coming back so often. We decided that injecting a chemotherapy drug into my lung tissue would be potentially beneficial. “Mitomycins” is supposed to inhibit cell regrowth (usually cancer cells). In my case, there have been few studies that show the drug could inhibit the lung cell regrowth. Each bronch they open my airways and then new scar tissue grows back narrowing my airways again. They injected the drug into my lung tissue, concentrating on where they had just opened my airways.

Since the last procedure, I have noticed I am not wheezing as much. It has even been 4 weeks and I still don’t hear/feel myself breathing. Hopefully, that means the drug is doing what was intended. I have another bronch scheduled for January 8th. I hope to hear that everything is finally cooperating and that maybe I could push off another bronch for maybe 2 months. (That might be pushing it, but one can hope.) At this point, I’m definitely going to be in a medical journal under experimental procedures, for sure!

Besides my routine bronchs, I have a clinic appointment at the end of January. I hope to get more information about the coronavirus vaccine. From others in the lung transplant community, I have heard that the vaccine is encouraged. However, I’ve heard that even though I am immunocompromised, I would not receive the vaccine ahead of the general public. Again, I’ll find out more information when it’s available. It’s not even a concern right now since there aren’t even enough vaccines available to healthcare workers.

We’ve been staying inside our home, still cooking a majority of our meals from home. We’re still using HelloFresh meal kit service to cut down on grocery items needed. My mom is still doing our grocery shopping for us so that we can avoid crowded stores. We were happy to complete most of our holiday shopping online and utilizing curbside pickup from our favorite local businesses.

We have been hiking each weekend, even with temperatures in the 30s. We’ve bought new hiking boots and bundle up in plenty of layers before heading out. Instead of going to the same locations time after time, we find a new trail to explore each time. I thought I would never enjoy hiking again, but I’m grateful for the gift of new lungs. I am literally a brand new person!