Lung Transplant Scare

Back on August 30, 2010, I had an appointment with my CF doctor. My Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) showed that my lung function was down to 32% which is a number that told my doctor I would be needing a lung transplant sooner rather than later. That day, the future I thought I wouldn't need to worry about for years all of the sudden came crashing into view. UT set us up with Vanderbilt's transplant center for me to have the first stage of the lung transplant evaluation. Only problem was the appointment wasn't until October 28. That was a long time filled with me fearing for my life.

I was terrified about what was to come. First of all, it meant that Eldon and I would almost definitely not be able to ever have a child of our own. My plan for the future became much shorter... I didn't know how much time I would have left. Eldon and I had quite a few serious conversations during that time. In one of those conversations, I gave Eldon an out. This was our first real picture of what our future holds, and it is going to be difficult to say the least. Eldon did not take my out. He said that he was in this, and he was not going to leave. (I love him! ) So, I began to work... I did extra breathing treatments and began working out again. I was determined not to need a transplant yet.

October 28 finally rolled around, and as we walked into the waiting room at Vanderbilt, I was literally shaking. When they took my heart rate, I think it was somewhere around 120. I was so nervous because I didn't know if my all my work was going to pay off or make any difference at all. I did my PFT, and my percentage went up to 59%! I felt as if I were dreaming! It was an amazing moment when later in the appointment, the doctor told me that my numbers were way to high to even be evaluated for a transplant!

Since then, my numbers have been hovering in the 50% range, but I have set a pretty high goal for myself. I know that if I have any hope of having a child with Eldon, I really need to be in the best physical condition possible. So, I'm starting to get to work on that right now. I have no idea if my goal is physically possible, but by my next appointment (April 20), I want my lung function to hit 70%. I know that is a really high bar, but I need that in order to motivate myself to keep working at it. We'll see how high I can get my numbers.... and keep them. (I'll keep you posted)