If you’re just tuning in, here is a snapshot of Latasha Warner’s transplant journey.
On July 1, 2024, Latasha received the gift of living with a double lung and heart transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
The call came on Sunday, June 31, 2024, at around 4 p.m., which was just 28 days after the first call for a transplant that wound up being a dry run due to an infection in the donor’s lungs.
Of note, Latasha was listed nationally for transplant on July 6, 2023.
Quick history:
Latasha was born in April 1980, and at the age of 9 months, she had open-heart surgery to have an atrial switch. At the age of 5 years, she had her second open-heart surgery. She has had multiple catheterizations and ablations and has been on numerous medications over the years. At the age of 26, she received her first pacemaker; she was on her third pacemaker before the transplant. That same year, she was diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in her lungs, leading to more medications and complications, which continued to get worse over the years.
The July 1, 2024, surgery was very rough on Latasha, and she had some complications due to her having multiple surgeries and procedures throughout the last 44 years. The human body is resilient and adaptable, but on the other hand, it doesn’t like to be bothered.
Latasha’s transplant surgery led to a lot of bleeding and blood given to her, which led to a lot of swelling in her entire body. That led to the surgeons needing to leave her chest open for a few days while her body compensated for all the new blood and trauma of three new organs (heart, left lung, and right lung).
As her ICU recovery progresses, we will begin the 2- to 3-month recovery journey here in Cleveland, Ohio. The recovery will be broken up with the first month or so in the CVICU and stepdown ICU and then into a short-term home-away-from-home. This journey will make many happy moments but also create many stressors, Mainly living in a city we are not from, having double bills, and being away from our dogs, Jack and Gunner, and our cat Binx.
Although this recovery seems short, it also begins a 2 to 3-year regular post-operative journey traveling back and forth to Cleveland from Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, every month. This period doesn’t account for the lifetime of follow-ups to ensure Latasha’s body is not rejecting the organs or having complaints.
Please consider sharing with your networks, friends, and influencers who may contribute to her successful journey. Also, please continue to read the main updates on Latasha’s progress as we document the journey to help others see what the process is like hopefully.
Sincerely and most humbly,
Christopher Warner
Latasha’s husband and best friend
Lifesavers for Latasha 
Leave a comment