1 Year Reprieve from Transplant Clinic

Every 6 months my wonderful husband, Greg, drives 2 hours each way to his transplant clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. The UW-Madison Transplant Hospital is one of the top in the nation and they have been instrumental in his continued good health that he doesn't really mind the drive.

However, yesterday I received his normal "I'm on my way home" call, which included a very high-pitched man on the other end of the phone. "Everything went well and guess what!? I don't have to come back for another full year!" A huge smile crossed my face as the last 4.5 years post transplant flooded back to me. In all that time, he has continued to get stronger and his lung function has been steadily increasing even though the doctors told us he would max out 6 months after his bilateral lung transplant. Ha! If only they knew how determined he was to reach well over the 90% lung function goal he had set for himself!

My heart is still racing. A 1-year reprieve from the transplant clinic not only means less money that we have to spent on a very expensive clinic visit but that even the doctor acknowledge that he is doing so well that he doesn't even need them. Sure, he still needs his 13 prescriptions and his 10-day a month inhaled medication (to ensure any bugs in his sinus cavities don't travel to his new lungs) but they trust in his excellent health and his ability to do what needs to be done that they don't have to see him!

Wonderful, wonderful news! I pray that every post transplant patient can experience such joy and, of course, we both thank his angel donor and donor's family for the gift of a lifetime!