The call came at approximately 6:00PM last night. My transplant coordinator phoned to announce the decision of the entire transplant team as to whether I was qualified to be on the lung transplant list or not. YES! Even with the cane and my limp, they listed me.
A side mention: Something has kicked in after three months of physical therapy. I am still needing a cane but I have made great strides and hope to be walking on my own soon. Something finally kicked in. Audrey was watching me walk when she suddenly rubbed her arms. Goosebumps? She said she never has seen what I was doing. Usually people who don't improve for three months just give up. I kept pressing and pushing and it was beginning to pay off. She was just stunned how quickly I was finally progressing.
The lung transplant coordinator talked to me about a single lung transplant and an "at risk" lung. I really want two lungs but, being over 65-years old, I will probably have only one. The surgery is simpler and the recovery a bit easier. She said that the long-term prognosis is the same as patients with two transplanted lungs. The other is a choice I will have to make. The donor might have been recently in prison or a drug addict or...you get it. I was horrified when first heard but someone in the rehab class had an "at risk" transplant, there was an infection, which was treated with antibiotics and that was all. It's been over three years since her transplant.
I would accept a single lung transplant and an "at risk" lung.
The testing begins. Later this week, I will have some blood tests, x-ray, echocardiogram and a CT Scan. Next week, it will be full pulmonary function tests, 6-minute walk test and blood gases. Can you image the difference in my last 6-minute walk test - where I walked the fastest ever - compared to walking with a cane? The difference is going to make my lung allocation number soar. That's a good thing. Tomorrow, I am going to have some blood drawn locally and shipped via FedEx for the doctors to have on hand to compare with a possible lung. They will be looking for antibodies. If I have any, they must match. The test last month revealed no antibodies at all. That makes it all a bit easier.
Time line? With needing 5 liters of oxygen, she said I qualified for lung transplants as long as everything else is good. She suspects that I will be transplanted within six months. We will see.
