We are home

 We are back! We snuck into Moraga last Sunday, leaving Durham one year to the day after leaving Moraga.

We have a lot of people to thank. We need to start with Team Laura. We would have never made it to Durham without the support and encouragement of our friends and family.

Nothing can be said that expresses our gratitude. We know that most people do not experience this level of support. We know that it is unique and special. We know that you are all exceptional, and we GREATLY appreciate all you have done.

It was surreal when we got the call that the transplant may/would happen. After waiting 9+ months, we were obviously excited at nervous. As we were working through the process and details and eventually the go-ahead, the coordinators at both Duke and Kaiser were as excited and nervous as we were. This was an investment journey for all. It was a team event, and we can't say enough about everyone involved.

No tags enable us to call out all of the teams that made this journey possible at Duke University Hospital. The pulmonary, transplant, nephrology, ICU, nurses, administrators, dietitians, social workers, and all those we neglected to mention, but we owe you a huge THANK YOU.

The team UCSF Health, you started this journey, and without your efforts, support, and introduction to Duke, we would not be here.

Finally, we must thank the friends and family of the donor. Being a donor changes lives. This family changed our lives and the lives of Team Z. Be a donor. Support others. It is easy to change the lives of others.

We hope that you and your families are well. We look forward to seeing you all soon, outside.

Cheers,

Kevin, Laura and Everett

10 Days out

10 days out, and Laura is making great progress. TODAY, at PT, she walked a mile and rode the bike 1.75 miles, with a weight session in between. The lungs are working great; it is now just a matter of building up strength and gaining weight.

The kidney numbers continue to be good and appear to be working well enough. We will have to continue to monitor overtime.

The team is delighted with her progress. Still sort of groundhog day, but at least it is a new one that continues to improve daily.

For those at home, below are the details for the Team Laura Blood Drive:

* Fri, March 18, 2022 from 11:00am to 4:30pm

* Orinda Masonic Hall, 9 Altarinda Drive

* Goal: 92 appts, 57 donors, 70 lifesaving units of blood ❤️

This is a great cause. As you may or may not know, there is a blood shortage. Before Laura was listed for a transplant, the team had some logistics work to ensure enough blood would be on hand. Donating makes a difference.

Thank you in advance.

Cheers!

https://www.vitalant.org/Donate/Donor-Eligibility.aspx

We are out!

 The telegraph is slow in Durham. Laura has escaped! Literally walked out of the hospital. She did walk out of the hospital but the escape was approved. After a very long day, Laura was discharged on Monday night.

They allowed her to walk out not from a wheelchair, but from her room. Amazing!

Today was a day to begin recovery. A real night's sleep. No interruptions, beeps, blood draws, or other inconveniences. A shower. BOOM!

The movement throughout the day should help the kidneys kick in and the edema dissipate.

Rehab starts tomorrow. Given the 1.5 miles a day pace, we expect the focus to be more on strengthening than cardio.

A new chapter begins. A huge thank you to TEAM Z, this was much different than the previous two transplants. It was more difficult and took more time. The support of the community really made a difference. Thank you so much.

More to come as we begin rehab.

Day 25 at Duke

 Day 25. We are STILL in the hospital. UGH. That said, we are making progress.

Laura is walking over a mile a day with no issue. Tomorrow she will start some PT to build upper body strength and flexibility.

There is one main drainage tube and two small JP tubes. We are just waiting for the main tube to stop draining. We were over 300ml a day and now below 200ml. If we can get below 100ml, we are out the door.

She is off Boost and Ensure and eating real food again. Another box checked.

As for the kidneys, the numbers have been high and continued to increase last night. Over the next week or so, we hope to see them decrease are her movement increases outside the hospital.

They have spoken CT scans, ultrasounds, and other fluid tests. The kidneys are working just at a slower pace. That is not uncommon, and they could rebound.

Hope everyone is well. Thank you for the support.

Cheers,

Day 12

 Sorry for the gap in the updates. It has been 12 days since the operation and all is progressing well. The days are up and down as expected.

Over the weekend the team was finally able to manage nausea and vomiting. Hopefully, that will remain under control as we are moving from tube feeds to solid food. The calorie count is a very important component of recovery and a check box to leave the hospital.

There are still four tubes for drainage. They are all working well and producing, thus they will be with her for a couple more days. These tubes are a major source of pain and until they are removed, pain management is an issue.

Lung function is great. Laura is walking half a mile a day without any supplemental oxygen. 3/4 of a mile is on the agenda for tomorrow! Just grinding it out.

Thank you all for the notes of support.

Cheers,

Day 3

Well, we may have gotten a bit ahead of ourselves.

All went very well today. Laura was able to get cleaned up, which was a very welcoming experience at that surgery. She was talkative and in good spirits. We even had PT scheduled to come by and go for a walk. That changed in the early evening.

We are not sure what happened, but Laura started to feel strange. Tiny tremors in her hand and a spasm-like movement in her face. She actually said she felt like she was having some kind of seizure. At that point, she became unresponsive.

The team intubated her again and made sure she was stable. A CT scan has not shown anything conclusive. She is currently on EEG and will likely have an MRI tomorrow. All of her functions were excellent immediately before this happened. Very, very scary.

She is responsive now and appears to be resting well. Hopefully, we can determine the cause and move on. Impressive to see the Duke team in action. Hopefully, we do not need them to show those skills again. But very reassuring.

I am looking forward to posting a positive update tomorrow.

Again, that you for all the well wishes and thoughts. Greatly appreciated.

Cheers, 

First day, third time

 What a day. It is incredible to think that at this time, two days ago, this scenario was not on our radar.

Laura had a great first day, all of her numbers looked strong, and the doctors were pleased with her progress. They did decrease her sedatives to check her response and she was able to open her eyes, grab a hand and give a thumbs up. The plan for tomorrow is to close and remove the breathing tube.

She is so strong. Really amazing to watch the progression.

Thanks for all the emails, txts, comments.

Cheers,

Out of OR

 Good morning. Laura is out of surgery. I just spoke with the surgeon, and he was thrilled with the procedure. There were no complications. The lungs fit perfectly and started to work immediately. Bleeding was minimal. Only 6 units were needed, which is significantly less than expected. Her body was strong throughout, all other functions working correctly.

They only used 6 units of blood means less stress on the kidneys, which is excellent news.

They did not close just as a precaution. During her second transplant, they had to reopen to do what is called a wash (clean up bleeding). They do not expect that they will need to do that, but if they do, it eliminates the need to re-open. She will be sedated until they close, likely tomorrow.

Hopefully, today will be a non-eventful day for her.

I will share more news as I have it.

Cheers,

Path to Threedo

 Happy New Year to all. 

I wanted to share some news.  On Dec 31st. the Duke team officially listed Laura for her transplant.  The team was very excited and really thought that the wait for lungs would not be too long. Given our experience in California, we had set our expectations a bit differently.

This morning we receive a call that they had possibly found a donor.  Laura went into surgery this evening at about 11:45.  We expect this surgery to be long upwards of 14 hours.  There is a very large team that is very excited to welcome Laura into a very exclusive club of threedos (A Duke term for triple lung transplant recipients).  She will either be the 10th or 11th person to receive a third double lung transplant.

We appreciate all the well wishes, thoughts and prayers.  We hope you all enjoyed a wonder holiday.  Stay safe.

Cheers,

The Zs