ONE YEAR AGO TODAY

It’s been awhile since I last posted…………………….but It was a year ago today that we packed up and headed to Durham for our big adventure at Duke. There was fear, uncertainty, excitement and a confidence that comes with a feeling inside one is on the right path.

The last selfie before heading out. I was on oxygen 24/7 at that point.

With Peter Jackson’s help, we loaded a U-Haul for what we were told by Duke would likely be a six to nine month stay. We were so fortunate to have a nice house all lined up due to the generosity of our dear friends the Alexanders, so we knew where we were headed. I had already been accepted into the Duke Lung Transplant program, so I knew in general terms what I was getting into, but I also knew the outcomes differed wildly for different people.

They day was also the very beginning of the Covid pandemic. The NBA had just cancelled a game and everyone was rushing to buy sanitizer and toilet paper. Of course, we had no idea what the ensuing year would unleash on the world, but I do remember Peter Jackson bringing along a homemade batch of hand sanitizer, since it was already impossible to buy in stores.

Once we arrived in Durham less than five hours later, and unpacked the truck and trailer, we cleaned up went to St.James Seafood for dinner, Matt Kelly’s outstanding restaurant in downtown Durham. Who could not have imagined that would end up being the last time we would eat inside a restaurant to date!

My first order of business was to start the “pre-hab” for the transplant, but even in the four days we had been in Durham, the country had begun to largely shut down. I wondered if the cardio-pulmonary rehab facility would even remain open. Was my last hope going to be dashed before it even got off the ground?

i remember Susie dropping me off for my first appointment. I was nervous as I could be. As I approached the entrance there was a big sign saying this facility would be closed due to Covid the following day until further notice. Dejected I entered and introduced myself and said “I’m here for my first appointment and I guess what will be my last as well.” The receptionist looked me up in the computer and replied “you are here for a lung transplant, we are keeping the facility open for the transplant candidates only. You guys can’t afford to wait. You will work one on one with a trainer with only a handful of you allowed in the facility at one time.” I was relieved and amazed! I began the pre-hab in earnest that day.

The next five weeks were filled with daily workouts, doctors appointments and education classes designed to scare the shit out of you and inform you of all the things that could go wrong. Countless vials of blood drawn, breathing and swallowing exercises, and enough radiation to light up a city for a week. All the while sucking on more and more oxygen as the days ticked by. it was a tense period to say the least. Mo really helped keep me laughing as only a 9 year boy could. I would take him out in the afternoons for a hot chocolate and a trip to the skate board park to take my mind off what I was doing..

Then it all changed so quickly. I had finished the “pre-hab” and was put on “the list” and got the call “Mr. Roy, we have new lungs for you, we need you at the hospital ASAP” within 24 hours, which was just amazing. Also quite scary at the same time. What I know now that I didn’t know then, was I got my new lungs so quickly because my need was deemed greater than other candidates on the national register. My native lungs were failing and my need was dire.

I have vivid memories of the surgery prep, my first Covid test of the 12 I’ve had this past year, the last FaceTime calls with my family and bantering with the crew in the operating room. There was so much high tech equipment and I was curious what it was all about. The crew got tired of my questions and I remember the head nurse saying “I think its time we let Mr. Roy get some rest” and then the mask came down. “Just breath deeply honey, everything’s going to OK.”

I woke up two days later. After a 10 hour surgery and 36 hours on an ECMO machine I awakened high as a kite on mega doses of steroids and was hallucinating. Amazingly, Duke had me on a FaceTime call with my family within the hour after having just removed the breathing tube. It was a joyous conversation for all! Lots of tears and non-sensical gibberish by me. I’ll never forget Molly had dressed for the call in full Saints regalia and had the full draft day report for me as it had gone down while I was out cold.

The next few weeks and months can be summed up in one picture:

At the sage advice of my dear friend Drake Sadler, I had the photo above enlarged, printed framed and is sitting on my dresser. Every morning I look into the intensity of my eyes and remember how far i’ve come in this journey. It makes the day in front of me seems easy in comparison and gives me motivation for the exercise i need to do, even when i really don’t fee like it. I don’t want to let that guy down, nor my family or my donor! I feel I’ve been entrusted with such a gift and I must make the most of it or I didn’t deserve it in the first place!

If you have made it this far on this blog I have a request of you. Please give serious consideration to becoming an organ donor, if you are not already. You have no idea what an incredible gift you can give, posthumously! Nothing short of the gift of life. With todays advancements in medicine your heart, lungs, liver, eyes, and kidneys can save people’s lives. You’re done with them, why not share your wealth? Need more encouragement? Check out this picture below. It tells the whole story better than words could ever do:

Please become an organ donor next time you renew your drivers license and let your family know your wishes.

So a year into this journey I’m happy to report I doing extremely well. My new lungs “Sam & Dave” are true champions and are working far better than my native lungs could. I don’t need any supplemental oxygen. I’m so lucky and grateful. I am part of a Facebook group of Duke Lung Transplant recipients and candidates and am reminded daily just how fortunate I am. I got a great match and could not have had a better support team! Not everyone is so fortunate by a long shot. I was the 2103rd lung transplant recipient and feel like the luckiest.

My heartfelt thanks to Susie, Mo, Molly, Juliana, Emma, Peter & Edie Jackson, and Lex & Ann Alexander for being on the front lines to help me through ordeal. I literally could not have done this without you. You have my undying gratitude as does the incredible team of doctors, nurses and support staff at Duke Hospital. I owe my life to you.

Home, sweet home!