Lifesavers for Latasha

It’s hard to believe today marks one year since I had my heart and double lung transplant. Some days, it feels like yesterday; other days, it feels like an eternity ago.

I will start by saying I still think of and am grateful to my organ donor. I have yet to receive a reply from the letter I wrote to my organ donor’s family. I am debating whether to write another letter or just let it be and respect their privacy. It is difficult knowing someone else’s organs are helping keep me alive and not knowing anything about the person and who he or she was. I know today is a difficult day for my organ donor’s family and friends. So, while I am grateful to be alive, I am also celebrating my organ donor’s memory.

I had my one-year bronchoscopy last month. There are still no signs of organ rejection, which is great. I do not have to have another bronchoscopy unless issues arise.

At my appointments last month, I was able to fully realize how much improvement I am showing with my new heart and lungs. I was able to walk up stairs at the hospital without being out of breath or having to take a break. If you’ve been to a large hospital campus, you know there is a lot of walking involved to get to where you need to go. At Cleveland Clinic, there is a long skywalk that connects the buildings. I was able to walk the length of the skywalk and to all my appointments without getting out of breath or stopping to rest.

So, at this one-year mark, there are milestones for me to celebrate.

On the flip side, I have still been dealing with gastroperesis and the vomiting associated with it. The doctors are trying to figure out why the gastroperesis is back when I had a procedure that was supposed to fix it. It’s been a little over one week since I last threw up. Some of the triggers of gastroperesis are high fiber foods, raw fruits and vegetables, and high fat foods. So, I have been trying to stay away from most of those. It’s really hard for me, because I love fruits and vegetables. In the summer, especially, I love salads, so not being able to eat them has been tough. I am hoping, though, that trying to limit those foods will help the gastroperesis be more manageable until the doctors figure out a treatment.

My anti-rejection medication is still being modified. Like I’ve said previously, this medication has been adjusted several times already. Each time I get my blood work done, which is generally every two weeks, the level is either too high, which means they decrease the dose, or too low, which means they increase the dose. I had blood work done yesterday, and it looks like the level is low again, so I’m probably going to have to increase it again. I don’t understand why it continues to fluctuate like it does.

This past year has been a roller coaster ride that doesn’t seem to want to end. Chris and I are ready to have smoother days where we may finally start planning to do things and go places again. Every time we even think about planning a trip, I end up sick. When I have good days, they are good. Chris and I are able to go out to eat or go do errands. We want to have more good days together.

I can’t reflect on making it a year post-transplant without thanking Chris. I truly don’t know how he’s stuck by me through all of this. I know it has been a lot, it has been rough, and it has been seemingly never ending. Of course we’ve had our days where our emotions and stress have overflowed, days where we’ve both wanted to quit, and days where we questioned whether all of this was worth it. Through it all, though, he has maintained a positive attitude and helped me more than he’ll ever realize. There were days where this journey could have, and almost did, break us. There were days, even weeks, where I did break, and Chris was still by my side, trying to encourage me. We’ve briefly talked about if our marriage would have survived if the roles were reversed. I honestly don’t know if I could’ve kept it all together like he has and for this long. Many marriages don’t survive even minor surgeries because of all the stress involved. I am thankful our marriage has survived this past year. Chris, I love you.

To everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers, thank you. It definitely means a lot knowing we have people who care about us and our journey.

Chris and I wanted to share pics of my scars. They are daily reminders of all I went through physically and all we both went through emotionally. The physical scars may have healed, but our internal scars are still raw. I’m not sure how long those will take to heal, if ever. I told Chris last night that I don’t remember a lot from the actual hospitalizations now. I think my brain must’ve tried to cover up the trauma of everything.

I am still hopeful that our journey will become more positive, and we will be able to live normal lives with traveling and planning to do things and go places soon. Fingers crossed that year two is much smoother and easier than year one has been.