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Friday, June 25, 2010
One of the 67.4%
US statistics say that 5 year female survivors of heart transplants are at 67.4% now. So, guess I'm part of that 67.4%. It doesn't, however, say anything about what the 10 year survivor rates are....nor does it give the average age of these transplants. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Golfer With Two Transplants
I have to admire Erik Compton, the PGA golfer playing in the US Open this weekend. At age 12 he had viral cardiomyopathy and had his first transplant. Nineteen years later, after putting himself through UGA on a golf scholarship, he felt a tingling in his arms and rushed to the hospital (drove himself) only to find out that his heart was, once again, failing and went through his second transplant. Figuring that his dream of playing professional golf was over, he hocked his clubs and started to give up his dream. But, once again, he fought back and today is playing in the US Open.
I don't know if I could do that. I don't know if I could go through all of this yet again. It is hard and depressing enough to keep going for bloodwork, nevertheless to think of all the biopsies, tests, clinic visits, medicine changes, and everything else yet again. You are warned when you agree to have a transplant that there will be LOTS of tests, hospital visits, and medicines to take. And at the time, when that is the only light at the end of a long, dark tunnel, you think you can handle it. But after a while it gets old. It gets depressing. It makes you angry. Sometimes you look at all the pills and want to say, "I quit".
Then you hear about a guy like this who has the courage to keep going. Who has the bravery to follow his dream. Who accepts the challenges and goes on. It makes you feel like an ungrateful fool. But everyone's situation is different. Family or no family, support or no support, children or no children. Reason to go on or nothing to keep you here. Until you walk in the shoes of a transplant person, no one should judge or will ever understand.
Nobody has any guarantees in life. Whether by choice or not, living can be a fleeting thing. I wish I could just pack up and take a trip to Italy, or spend a month on the beach, or walk trails in the mountains...all with camera in hand. I guess that would be my dream. Oh well, maybe before this heart gives out....I'm not planning on another one.
I don't know if I could do that. I don't know if I could go through all of this yet again. It is hard and depressing enough to keep going for bloodwork, nevertheless to think of all the biopsies, tests, clinic visits, medicine changes, and everything else yet again. You are warned when you agree to have a transplant that there will be LOTS of tests, hospital visits, and medicines to take. And at the time, when that is the only light at the end of a long, dark tunnel, you think you can handle it. But after a while it gets old. It gets depressing. It makes you angry. Sometimes you look at all the pills and want to say, "I quit".
Then you hear about a guy like this who has the courage to keep going. Who has the bravery to follow his dream. Who accepts the challenges and goes on. It makes you feel like an ungrateful fool. But everyone's situation is different. Family or no family, support or no support, children or no children. Reason to go on or nothing to keep you here. Until you walk in the shoes of a transplant person, no one should judge or will ever understand.
Nobody has any guarantees in life. Whether by choice or not, living can be a fleeting thing. I wish I could just pack up and take a trip to Italy, or spend a month on the beach, or walk trails in the mountains...all with camera in hand. I guess that would be my dream. Oh well, maybe before this heart gives out....I'm not planning on another one.
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