Here are some Lung Transplant Patient Stories from Barnabas
Health.
Charles and Craig had a joyful reunion last week at Newark Beth Israel
Medical Center, at the first anniversary of the lung transplant surgeries
that changed their lives. “We've come a long way from last year,” Charles
said.
A year ago, the two men were the first patients to receive transplants
as part of the hospital's Lung Transplant Program, the only such program
to receive certification in New Jersey. Charles, 50, of Irvington, NJ,
and Craig, 55, of Toms River, first met after they had their surgeries,
which were a day apart.
“We keep in touch,” Charles said. Last week they saw each
other when they came to Newark Beth Israel for the periodic lung biopsy
check-ups that are part of their post-operative treatment. The two men
joked about whether the hospital would do anything special to mark the
first anniversary of their surgeries. “We chatted about whether
they were going to give us a party,” Charles said.
And in fact, when the men came back to Beth Israel for their annual
visit to the transplant department, there was an informal celebration
reuniting Charles and Craig with the team who cared for them during
their recovery.
Charles credits his surgery with saving his life. “If you had
seen me last year, it's like two different people,” he said, adding
that his life “has improved 110 percent” since his double-lung
transplant a year ago for treatment of sarcoidosis, an immune system
disorder. Before the operation, “I was in bad shape and on the
way out of here,” he recalled. “I could barely brush my
teeth. Work was too difficult. I could barely walk. It was getting to
the point I was homebound. Now my life has been returned back to me.”
Charles went back to work five months later as an accountant in Manhattan.
He is also able to once again enjoy the simple pleasures of life that
most people take for granted, like being able to visit with friends
and take long walks. “There was a time I couldn't go out to dinner,
I was so tired,” Charles said. “Now, I'm going out three
times a week.” He even took a weekend trip to Baltimore, and its
beautiful harbor area, to celebrate the anniversary of his transplant
surgery.
Craig, who suffers from emphysema in association
with an enzyme deficiency, had a single-lung transplant a day after
Charles. Before their surgery both Craig and Charles had been on oxygen
therapy 24 hours a day, but those days are over. “Now I can breathe
a hell of a lot better,” Craig said.
Like Charles, before his transplant Craig was basically homebound. “I'd
walk a couple of steps and be out of breath,” he said. Now he
is back playing electric guitar with a rhythm-and-blues band, performing
at local clubs at the Jersey shore. He also takes walks every day to
exercise.
In contrast to Charles, Craig only had one lung replaced. He said his
other lung remains diseased, and he still has to get enzyme shots. So
he is still recovering and not well enough to return to work yet. “I
still get weak, I get tired,” Craig said. “Hopefully, I'll
be doing more things as I get stronger.”
Both men have to take medication for the rest of
their lives to guard against their bodies rejecting
their new lungs. That is a small inconvenience
in exchange for the improvements they have seen
in their quality of life. Once almost unable to walk, Charles is planning
to start a structured regimen of exercise, one that will include weights
and cardio workouts. But there is one piece of equipment he is thrilled
he doesn't have to lug around anymore - his oxygen tanks.
“The best thing is I don't have to have the tanks,” Charles
said. “That has been a blessing, not carrying any apparatus in order
to breath.”
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