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Post by stargazer on Dec 16, 2008 21:00:54 GMT -5
Hi to all that read this. I will start by giving you a little history as to why we are where we are!!
My name is Kathy and my partner is Lionel we are both in our early 50's and retired. We have many plans for our retirement and although this was not one of them, it is we hope, just a detour in our journey.
In April 2007 Lionel ended up in ICU and on a ventilator to keep him breathing. It was a very scary experience and a life changing one! Lionel has severe COPD and was told his only option was a lung transplant. There are no lung transplants performed in Nova Scotia so we would have to be referred to Toronto. Before that was done we completed a 3 month rehab program in Halifax which ended in Jan 08 and was very helpful in teaching some life skills and getting him moving again.
Our first interview with Toronto was done via video conference. We were then scheduled to come up to Toronto for a week long pre-assessment the last week of August 08. Things went very well and we knew even then that transplant was what we wanted to do. Due to family history, age and past smoking history an angiogram was scheduled in October which showed a blockage in one of his arteries. After a another 3 week wait Toronto called and told us to come up and that the blockage was not significant enough to stop things!! We left Halifax on Nov 28 and arrived in Toronto Nov 30th. It was a very emotional journey leaving everything behind. The worst thing was leaving our 9 yr old dog Calhoun and 17 yr old cat Socks behind. Calhoun is mostly a country dog and I doubt I would even get him into an elevator!! A house/dog/cat sitter was hired and so far all is going well. I miss my babies but i hope to be home soon...
Tomorrow I will bring you up to date on the last few weeks of our life here in Toronto and the transplant process. Please feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
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Post by deltagirl on Dec 17, 2008 20:17:33 GMT -5
Looking forward to your update tomorrow - sounds like quite a journey already!
Best to you both,
Barbara
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