Sam & Dave
Prior to surgery, both Pop’s oxygen tanks had proper names, so it was only a matter of time before the new lungs themselves underwent the same rite of passage. Friends and relatives, may I introduce Sam & Dave:
As you can see from the photo above, Sam is the left lung and Dave is the right. Dave is already distinguishing himself as the troublemaker of the pair. There have been some pockets of fluid in Dave that were not getting smaller, so today Pop had to have another, much less invasive surgery to drain these pockets and close them up. This is not an uncommon procedure for transplant patients and the procedure was successful—but it does mean that today was something of a “lost day” in terms of progress toward home. Having said that, progress tends not be strictly linear in any area of life, much less recovery from a double lung transplant! So tonight Pop is just focusing on getting some good rest and will be back on his regimen of walking and coughing practice as soon as possible.
Susie also asked to give two special shout outs today to:
Lauren, Pop’s transplant coordinator in the hospital—thank you for staying so on top of everything and making yourself available to answer questions literally 24/7 through this whole process; and
Hana, a rock star nurse—thank you for taking such good care of Dad and for being on top of the coffee delivery service. ☕️ 🙏🏻
You are both a huge part of making this transplant a success!
Now to sign off, and in honor of Pop’s new lungs, here’s a song to ease us all through the back half of the weekend: