This is a great question!
The most exciting part of coming home was getting back to my life. I was able to be healthy for the first time and didn't have that anchor holding me down. I got back to school to finish my senior year and was able to realize my dream of moving to a big city and supporting myself. The most difficult part about returning home was leaving my doctors in another state. That safety net was gone and I had to learn how to manage my new life.
As far as attitude changes: Pre transplant, I was more of an introvert. I had a lot of friends, but mostly stood on the sidelines (because I was self conscious about breathing and coughing). After my transplant, I lived in New Orleans to recover for 4 months. So when I went back home I had been gone for about 9 months total. My friends did all came to visit me while I was away, however, I found getting back into the social life was a bit tough. I had to get used to going out with my peers again and socializing. After a while I noticed that I was no longer an introvert and dependent on others. I became extremely outgoing and almost craving that center of attention feel.
It was a difficult time for my mom since I was pretty much her job for 21 years. That all changed and I wanted to take care of myself and be out on my own and enjoy life with my friends. So we worked through that but it took some time (she was afraid to cut those strings!). I didn't have a significant other at the time, so no worries there. But I did have a new found interest in men all together. Pre-transplant, I just didn't care all that much.
I did end up losing some friends Post-Transplant. They said I was "different". They were the type of people that never really got it anyway and were kind of used to me being on the back burner. I think that they had a difficult time seeing me come out of my shell since they were used to me being really dependent on them. I tried many times to explain that you can't expect someone to go through a lung transplant and not come out a bit changed on the other side. When life is handed to you and nothing is holding you back, it's overwhelming and life altering experience! We have kindly grown a part and gone our seperate ways, and I'm more than okay with that.
It is an exciting time, an overwhelming time, and a scary time. As each year goes in, you get used to your new healthy life while still having to deal with those bumps in the road that come along. The people who are meant to be in your life aren't going anywhere and will adjust to your new found life.
I would love to hear from people who were in a relationship prior to and during transplant. If you were really dependent on your significant other pre-transplant, how did they adjust to you being able to do things on your own?
