It is important to discuss a possible lung transplant long before you need to be listed. This will give you time to prepare for transplant as a future option and work with your cystic fibrosis care team to understand the implications and to create a plan.
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Surgery and recovery involves more than replacing your lungs. The process also includes making the physical and emotional adjustment to life with your new lungs.
When my mom used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told her that I wanted to be a dad. The journey to fatherhood with cystic fibrosis is full of obstacles, but I would give anything to pass on the traits I've gained from living with this disease to a child of my own.
Although my lung transplant was the end of one story, it was also the beginning of another, more difficult story.
I made it onto the transplant list after first being rejected. After 18 months of waiting, I got the call that my new lungs were waiting for me.
I did the research. I asked the questions. I thought I knew what to expect when I had a double-lung transplant. I was surprised by what I learned.
Halloween, April Fools' Day, and Mother's Day may be average American holidays for most, but for me, they mark three important days in my long, emotional journey toward a new pair of lungs.
After my transplant team said I was too sick to undergo a double-lung transplant, I was determined to get well enough so that I could.
After two double-lung transplants my lungs don't have CF anymore, but the rest of me still does. In a very real way, CF isn't "behind me" at all. And that's why I continue to fight.