The Rubber Meets The Road, YIKES!

Post Heart/Lungs transplant. Renee, myself & Dr. Norman Lewiston, the man that made sure I received the transplant

I must be honest, if someone decides to go into the transplant route, be ready and if you need it, go all in! I should explain but first remember, every single person is different. Thankfully you, me and every sick person in the trenches fighting for their life, we are all individuals. Yep this is how God made us. We react to pain differently and enjoy the awesome wonders of life in our own ways. This is what makes us human.

Back in the days of my first transplant, which by the way feels like a different lifetime, Renee and I were so young, each at 28 and having two young boys, Dustin 7 & Cody 3. Life was busy, fun and amazing yet Cystic Fibrosis was sucking the life right out of me! By the time I was on the heart/ lung transplant list I was feeling as if I was amongst the walking dead. My lungs were scared from infections and packed full of thick mucous. I was on full time oxygen, had a feeding tube in my stomach all the while if I coughed to hard my lungs would bleed. With all this going on I became forced to quit working. Life became super hard for the four of us in most every way imaginable ! Regardless of all the attacks from every direction, God was more present in every way. I cannot fathom doing any of this without him.

Here’s the thing, a transplant most likely can save your life, my life has been given many chance’s! If you’re sick and your doctor forwards you on to the transplant team, meet the team and do the pre testing. Please don’t let your worries or fears hold you back from getting into the program. This pre transplant assessment is worth its weight in gold! It lets you know where you’re at with your sickness and what the time line is looking like for functioning health, decline and transplant. This info is super important, no person wants a major surgery for the fun of it !

We are very blessed nowadays, there are available to us programs for financial helps, insurance coverages and even Medicare may cover the transplant. This is another step that must be done, if you’re really sick and are coming to a point of not being able to continue on working you must get filed for disability. Once your at this point it can take a long, long time to get on disability, sad but true.

So the truth summed up is that sickness isn’t fair to anyone. I’m sorry for you having to go through this, both Renee and I have seen too much in the medical system. Am I done with it, ha, I will most likely never be done with it until I go to be with my Lord Jesus and that will be the true healing…..