Recap: About Me...Part II

So I'm picking up from where I left off. The decision was just made for me to be evaluated for a lung transplant at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I went through the evaluation process and ended up being a good candidate for lung transplantation. So I became listed in the spring of 1998 (7th grade). However, my health actually began to stabilize and hospital stays weren't quite as frequent.

Although I went in the hospital several the summer before 9th grade..... 9th grade proved to be a very successful year. We began to get calls from St. Louis stating that they had lungs for me. However, because my lung functions had improved somewhat and I felt pretty good, we passed on the lungs. At this time, if you passed on lungs more than 3 times, you had to consider going off the lung transplant list or becoming inactive. During my 9th grade year, the decision was made to be reevaluated and become inactive on the lung transplant list. Being inactive allows you to still accumulate (or it did at that time) time on the transplant list, but not actively be listed. (Note: UNOS has now changed the guidelines/criteria where placement on the lung transplant list is based on severity of illness, not accumulation of time; therefore, the sickest people are put at the top of the list)


Beginning in 9th grade, I did exceptionally well (for me, that is). I only required hospitalizations once during the summer. I was able to go through the school year without missing any school (for CF that is). It was great. I was involved in many honor societies and community service groups, and managed to maintain an above 4.0 grade point average. I really thought things were turning around! I had a great year hanging out with my friends and just enjoying life overall!

During 12th grade, I decided to go in for a tune-up during our Christmas break of the school year. I felt like i could not wait until the summer, like I had done for the 3 previous years. However, after being discharged, i knew my health was not as good as it had been and had not responded as well to the antibiotics this time. During Spring Break of my senior year in high school, my health took a turn for the worst, and there was no "bouncing" back this time. I went in the hospital E.R. during Spring break with an O2 level of around 50%, and having a very difficult time breathing. It was during this stay, that I became dependent on oxygen 24/7. Although I only spent about 3 weeks in the hospital, I was required to finish up the school year at home.