(edited, January 14, 2011) Reflections of a CF Mom... I am the mother of a 29 year old daughter with a double lung transplant. Anna's old lungs gave out due to cystic fibrosis. On November 22, 2010 Anna received the miraculous gift of new lungs. We are adjusting and recovering from the end of life battle with CF and the intense transplant surgery. I am watching Anna heal and begin a new life with her strong and healthy new lungs. NEW LUNGS, NEW BREATH, NEW LIFE
We are home. It has been a very long day............ I will write tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know. We are all breathing easier and Anna can not believe how quiet her breath is..........
Isn't that the most AWESOMEST thing?!?! For how many years do we wake up, and our chest sounds like a percolator brewing a nice pot of sludge -- all of the crackling and popping and bubbling... Then we start huffing and coughing to get it moving -- then 1-2 hours of pounding or vibrating to clear it out and make room for a little O2/CO2 exchange...
And now, you wake up to silence -- the loudest most beautiful silence you've ever heard -- and you pull in a breath, expanding your chest, drawing your diaphram down -- and it's so satisfying that it feels as if you're eating the air -- and after a couple of breaths you can feel it spreading through your formerly-oxygen-starved body...
I hope, like me, she finds out that one of the most amazing things, second only to the whole breathing thing, is the TIME!!! Between my CPT, inhaled meds, IV meds, exercise, eating, etc - we were dedicating often 16+ hours daily to taking care of me - 16+ hours where I/we were actively doing something to maintain or improve my health every freaking day... Now, it's 10-15 minutes daily to check my medical stats... My beautiful donor did not only give me the incredible gift of breathing - she also gave me the gift of 16 hours every single day... Anna has dialysis and some other things that are going to occupy time, so she hasn't got the full amount back yet -- but I hope she feels that soon...
Anna is already where she feels an incredible difference in her lungs -- but it's going to get even so much better!!! She's still breaking those babies in -- and her capacity is going to rise in leaps and bounds over the first few months... I can't wait to hear about her adventures...
Isn't that the most AWESOMEST thing?!?! For how many years do we wake up, and our chest sounds like a percolator brewing a nice pot of sludge -- all of the crackling and popping and bubbling... Then we start huffing and coughing to get it moving -- then 1-2 hours of pounding or vibrating to clear it out and make room for a little O2/CO2 exchange...
ReplyDeleteAnd now, you wake up to silence -- the loudest most beautiful silence you've ever heard -- and you pull in a breath, expanding your chest, drawing your diaphram down -- and it's so satisfying that it feels as if you're eating the air -- and after a couple of breaths you can feel it spreading through your formerly-oxygen-starved body...
I hope, like me, she finds out that one of the most amazing things, second only to the whole breathing thing, is the TIME!!! Between my CPT, inhaled meds, IV meds, exercise, eating, etc - we were dedicating often 16+ hours daily to taking care of me - 16+ hours where I/we were actively doing something to maintain or improve my health every freaking day... Now, it's 10-15 minutes daily to check my medical stats... My beautiful donor did not only give me the incredible gift of breathing - she also gave me the gift of 16 hours every single day... Anna has dialysis and some other things that are going to occupy time, so she hasn't got the full amount back yet -- but I hope she feels that soon...
Anna is already where she feels an incredible difference in her lungs -- but it's going to get even so much better!!! She's still breaking those babies in -- and her capacity is going to rise in leaps and bounds over the first few months... I can't wait to hear about her adventures...
Love, Steve