One of the most illuminating aspects of the Heart Lung Transplant journey has been all of the medications—a literal buffet of different medications to stop this, block this, enhance that, suppress this, and so on and so on. I lost count somewhere around 20 different medications in pill, liquid, and shot forms. We learned today…

Today marks the three-week point in this transplant story. It marks a transitional moment where the medical conversations have shifted toward postoperative care and discharge. It’s a lot to take in. Just 21 days ago, I was having a minor panic attack, and Latasha and I were driving to Cleveland Clinic, asking ourselves if this…

As Latasha recovers from her Heart and Lung Transplant (HLT), she is gaining her strength back and getting more mobile, and as the doctors take out bandages and tubes, it reveals the scars of the HLT journey. The funny thing about scars is that they leave a reminder of an event and the emotions that…

Today has been quiet, slow, and restful for Latasha. Just the way she needs it to be. When the doctors stopped by for their daily rounds, all they had on the docket was rest and recovery; Tasha was already crushing that. The doctors and I had a great chat about transplant statistics, donor issues across…

Latasha had a restful and quiet day today. Now that she is in a private room, she can get a decent night’s sleep and take several well-needed naps throughout the day. The new doctor and medical team visited, and they removed her nutrition/feeding line from her nose, catheter, and drainage tube down to a bulb…

Now that Latasha and I are almost three weeks into this heart and lung transplant journey and the dust is settling, I have been reflecting a lot about organ donorship and the family who gave Tasha the precious gift of life. We both want to know about the donor and their story. Who were they?…

I wanted to share a more light-hearted and fun post. It may seem odd, but one way Tasha always wanted to memorialize her transplant was through the organ pillows in each recovery unit at the Cleveland Clinic. With the help of some extraordinary nurses, I could track down both the heart and double lung pillows.…

Today was a massive milestone for Latasha! She is officially in the transplant step-down unit in a private room. You might ask, what’s next on the agenda? Rest, recovery, continued therapies, and prepping for discharge, hopefully by next Friday. Tasha walked another 200 feet with the walker and another 50 feet unassisted. We briefly saw…

Latasha had another really good day today. As the doctors and medical teams want, each day brings a restored energy level and a little bit closer to being discharged. Tasha crushes her therapy daily and walked another 200 feet, including about 20 feet unassisted. So, this means she is ready to go to the recovery…

While Latasha was in a medically induced coma in the first days after her double lung and heart transplant she had at the Cleveland Clinic on July 1, 2024, I was struggling to cope. It was like a freight train of emotions hit me at once. To deal with it all, I do what I…