Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Connective Tissue Disease/Lung Disease

When I first had a conversation about lung transplants, there had better not be other issues. If one had an additional disease, they were not considered for the program. Period. Something changed in the years between appointments. I have a feeling it had more to do with not enough people qualifying for transplants that brought about the change. Suddenly, they were accepting all comers except for cancer survivors. They had to be 5-years cancer free to be part of the program.

While I am on the road trip, my ILD support group is featuring the head of the rheumatology clinic who is going to discuss connective tissue-related interstitial lung diseases. About 20-25% of ILD diseases seen at my university hospital are due to an underlying connective tissue disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, lupus, myositis and many more. I am sorry I am going to miss this discussion.

In my rehab class, both of the recent recipients of new lungs had a connective tissue disease. They are both doing so well, traveling and living life to its fullest but also very grateful to their donors and the donor's families.

In other news, Natalie and her family are leaving me. They realized that their life is over the pass. School, Junior Olympic Gymnastics and work are all a long commute away. They are looking for a house in a sweet area closer to their life. I will miss them here on the coastside. My dream was to have them in a house in my area but, alas, life happened. It is a smart move for them. We plan to see each other during the summer break.

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