Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Penn called....evaluation dates set...

The transplant team scheduler called to set up my evaluation appointments!

This call came allot quicker than I thought it would. We will be heading to University of Pennsylvania on Feb 2nd, 3rd & 4th. Apparently the days will be filled with testing both physically and mentally to see how good of a candidate I would/will be for transplant. I was told they look at my support system as well over the period, so Denise will need to be on her game also (get steely and not weepy...LOL). As far as the testing goes it's mostly non invasive (MRI, EKG, etc...) except for the last day. On the third day they do a cardiac catheterization, arterial blood gas and I think a bronchoscopy so none of that will be fun, but no big deal really.

This is an exciting next step towards my goal of a double lung transplant.

5 comments:

  1. I am glad I found your blog. You seem like a very interesting and insightful person. I loved the post where you talk about the weight lifting. . .all or nothing! Believe me that attitude will get you through your transplant. Thanks for checking out my blog and leaving a comment.

    I was wondering where your doing testing at? I had my transplant in Pennsylvania. At the University of Pittsburgh UPMC..... are you going somewhere else?

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  2. I was really taken by what you had to say, thank you for sharing! Talking with and reading about people who have been through this really helps.

    I will hopefully be listed at the university of Pennsylvania, we will see how the testing goes next month. They recomended I crosslist at Columbia in NY also. They said the way lungs are allocated (local first, then regional) that it may mean less wait time for me.

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  3. I am glad what I say makes some sense :) Good Luck with getting listed and your journey ahead of you. In case you need to look into other centers or options, Pittsburgh and Cleveland are the largest centers. They do the most transplants monthly and yearly. They have a lot of knowledge and experience. So just in case you want to look into them as well. :)

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  4. We can do it!
    Can't wait to go hiking in the Grand Canyon with YOU!

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