5-year-old marks transplant milestone

Ben was placed on the waiting list for a heart transplant. On the evening of March 23, 2007, his physician reported that a potential donor heart was available. By breakfast the next day, this gravely ill child had a new heart...
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High Blood Pressure Panic

It is never too early or late to fall back into your old bad habits. Being post-transplant, these bad habits can have even worse results.

Sure, Greg's blood pressure has been higher than normal over the last week or so and the doctors automatically decide to put him on blood pressure medication. Why? The last thing he needs is to add yet another drug to his already expansive list of 13+ medications. For me, it is more about solving the problem then putting a band-aid on it.

You see, there was once a time that the transplant clinic doctors wanted to put Greg on some medication because he had very low blood pressure. It was shortly after his transplant and he was still in the hospital. Luckily, I have a very logical mind and realized that his IV sterile water drip had been stopped the day before. Since then, he had not one glass of water. Hello!?! Can anyone say dehydration?? *laugh* After handing him a 20-ounce bottle of water, his blood pressure was back to normal. No medications or intervention needed.

So what is going on with his blood pressure now? Bad eating habits! Today is was quite high and even though he had an idea of the culprit, he dare not admit he might know what it was. Again, logic hit my brain as I realized that he ate more than half a frozen pepperoni pizza yesterday afternoon. Hello!?! Can we say "sodium"?

As it turns out, my wonderful husband's diet over the last couple of weeks has been high sodium fast food and dining out. We have been busy running around that we haven't had much time for dinner at home (lower sodium foods) and he has been ordering the ham sandwiches, pepperoni pizzas, fries on the side, etc. foods that he was told to stay away from.

Alas, it seems this wife needs to work on reminding her husband how easy it is to take on the bad habits of pre-transplant life. This is a second chance at life - not a second chance at fast food mania! *big laugh*

April is National Donate Life Month!

April is right around the corner and with it comes National Donate Life month! Now is the perfect time to grab a new organ donation or transplant awareness T-shirt, mug or bumper sticker to show our support in raising awareness for Organ and Tissue donation. Check out the entire line of Angel Cove's Organ, Tissue, and Transplant Donation Awareness products today! We have beautiful designs on T-shirts and gifts to help you spread awareness in your own way!

Thank you and God Bless!
Shannon

Angel Cove Organ Donation Awareness
http://www.angelcove.us

Time to Move

We have been living in Wisconsin for so long now that we have realized it is time for us to move on. No, not tomorrow or next month but we are working and planning towards our future in a new state. This is the part that makes any transplant recipient nervous; leaving their transplant hospital and finding a new one without risking their medical care.

Greg has been doing so well (92% lung function) that we hate to risk leaving the UW-Madison transplant clinic. It took us some time to realize that the reasons we went to that specific hospital no longer hold true for our family. First, we wanted Dr. Robert Love because he was not only one of the top lung transplant surgeons in the United States but he was a Cystic Fibrosis double-lung transplant specialist. Since Greg's lungs were so bad (10% lung function) and diseased, we needed and wanted nothing but the best: someone who knew how complicated CF lungs could be to remove (and a pain in the rear they were). But, Dr. Love transferred some time ago to Loyola Hospital near Chicago, Illinois. Therefore, he hasn't been our doctor in a couple of years.

Then we lost the other lung transplant surgeon that worked on Greg; Dr. Zink. He transferred as well shortly after Dr. Love. Last to go was Greg's transplant coordinator, Anne Marie. The 3 main pillars of support at the hospital, and the people that pretty much got everything done us (with amazing results), were gone. They were replaced with decent surgeons but now all Greg sees is the pulmonologist (not transplant doctor) and a new transplant coordinator that has cost us a ton on prescription refills because he can never get any of the prescriptions ordered correctly.

So, what is the real reason to stay? It is not because of the hospital. Sure, they have all his medical records and the respiratory therapists know him by face but that doesn't mean he is in any better hands then any other hospital. His medical files can easily be transferred and we can even get him evaluated by a transplant hospital in a new city we are looking at moving to before we even move.

Now, it is just time to narrow down our city choices. This will take some time and since we have at least a year until we are ready to move, we will make sure to do all the research needed before making such a decision. It is time to move beyond the dead trees and dreadful winters of Wisconsin and on to the warmer climate that allows us to enjoy more the second chance at life Greg has been given.