Although they have been full of physical and emotional challenges, as well as life interruptions, multiple transplants have helped me become the person I am.
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Finding out I had COVID-19 was frightening, but much of what my brother and cystic fibrosis taught me about emotional resilience helped me get through it. This is the story of my journey surviving cystic fibrosis and COVID-19.
Deciding to get on the double-lung transplant waiting list was a very difficult decision, emotionally. I was lucky my care team recommended early referral. It gave me the time to process my emotions about transplant and make an educated decision.
Since starting the transplant journey, I have learned many things, run into many roadblocks, and been left shocked by other issues.
After my social media post went viral, I finally found my lung donor's family. The emotional meeting with them brought a confusing mix of happiness, grief, gratitude, and survivor's guilt. I received lungs because my donor was killed in a shooting.
Although I went through a lung transplant evaluation, I decided not to be listed.
Because of the threat to my health caused by COVID-19, I had to give up my dream job as a nurse practitioner. Now I am asking for paid leave expansion.
Because of the medications I must take as a result of my lung transplant, I thought it might be too difficult to conceive a baby through in vitro fertilization. I was wrong. I'm expecting a son in November.
After discussing it with my family and giving it a lot of thought, I decided not to pursue a lung transplant.
My relationship with the idea of a lung transplant has changed over time. Although I'm approved for transplant now, it is a complicated process with a full range of emotions. Here's what I learned along the way.