During my life I have withstood alot of obsticules of CF(Cystic Fibrosis). Until about the age of 15, I never had any troubles with CF that I can remember. At this age I had to make my first stay in a hospital for a week at Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee. During the stay, I was given antibiotic fluids through IV access and after a week I was fine and went home. Not until February 2002 was I admited to the same hospital with similar problems from 3 years before. This stay was not a good one for which I was also diagnosed with Diabetes (common in CF patients) on top of having the antibiotic fluid therapy again. After this stay I started becoming more of a regular at the hospital being an inpatient every few months recieving different types of treatment that goes with the treatment of CF.
February 15, 2003 was the scariest day of my life and that of my families. I called my mother at work that day to complain of shortness of breath. Like a mom she was worried and rushed home from work and saw that my fingernail beds were blue as well as my lips because I was having such a stuggle with breathing. The next thing I know we are off to Johnson City Medical Center (30 minutes away) when she asks if I thought I could make it. The stubborn one I am said "Yes". Well she believed otherwise and took me to the local hospital emergency room. I did my best to make it from the car to the emergency room door.
As soon as I got in there I was on Oxygen and the got X-Rays of my chest. The doctors discovered that I had a severe pneumothorax of the left side which means my left lung had completely collapsed and they told my mom that I might not have made it all the way to Johnson City Medical Center. Moments later they performed a procedure of inserting a chest tube in my side to get all of the leaked air and everything else out that had made my lung collapse. After that I only remember waking up in Johnson City Medical Center being surrounded by family and doctors that I knew. The first words out of my mouth that I remember after awakening was "I want a lung transplant". After 5 weeks of fear and 3 other chest tubes of different sizes and different antibiotic treatment I was finally able to go home but sadly had to spend my 19th birthday in the hospital. The nurses made me feel at home though by getting me presents and a cake and filling my room with 100 ballons. I felt really special that night.
Throughout the year of 2003 I was in and out of the hospital multiple times but in November I was able to go to talk to a lung transplant team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN to schedule a time to come back to be evaluated to be put on the list for a double-lung transplant (this is required in CF patients recieving lung transplants due to fear of disease spreading to new lung if only one lung was transplanted).
In March 2004 I took my trip to Nashville for my week long evaluation for acceptance on a lung transplant list. Testing consisted of PFT's (Pulmonary Function Tests) to see how much air you are taking in when you breath and how much you are holding in when you breath out. All sorts of different blood tests. X-rays and CT scans of my chest. Also what kind of physical shape I was in. Sort of like a physical fitness test in P.E. in elementary school. After all was said and done I was accepted and put on the list.
Most recent I spent 6 weeks away from home. 3 weeks at Johnson City Medical Center then I was transfered by plane to Vanderbilt University Medical Center so they could look after me and start lung transplant preperations for when the time comes. While I was there I had a feeding tube implanted in my stomach which helps with nutrition which is recommended for CF patients to do. I left The Medical Center after a week to go to Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital. Now here I was sent to build up my physical condition to be able to go through the transplant operation and I also recieved some antibiotic therapy while I was there. I worked out to the best of my ability for 2 weeks at that facility until I finally came home
