I got my transplant

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summer732

New member
Hi everyone...its Margaret...I just wanted to let you all know that I got my transplant last Wednesday. I got out of the hospital on Friday after only nine days! Thank God for such a speedy recovery. I have never felt better in my life...I laughed without coughing for the first time and am even walking up and down stairs again. Rehab is going to be tough but i'm looking forward to it. I feel better everyday. Thank you everyone for answering all of my questions pre-transplant.
I'll keep you guys updated on my progress
Margaret
 
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Emily65Roses

New member
Walking stairs and laughing without coughing... excellent news! Glad to know you're doing so well. Keep it up. You'll be in my thoughts. <img src="i/expressions/rose.gif" border="0">
 
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Liza

New member
How wonderful! You'll be in my thoughts and prayers. Please continue to keep us posted on how you are doing.

Liza
(mom of 2 teen girls w/cf)
 
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IG

Guest
Congrats Margaret! Word of advice... try not to sneeze during the first few weeks afterward. LOL, yeah that's definitely a bad idea... Continue to do well and keep us posted <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
 
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kybert

New member
congrats! you need to change your signature now, it says 'waiting double lung tx' <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
 
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anonymous

New member
I know this might be a very personal question, but what does the scar from the transplant look like. Do you know where one might be able to see pictures of somones scars from a double lung transplant. My husband is not quite to the point of needing a transplant, but with CF, he's well on his way. This might sound vain but one of his big concerns is the scar. He's a fairly active, shirt off kind of guy and has heard that the scars go all the way across the chest. Is this true, are there other alternatives?

Julie
 
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Emily65Roses

New member
It's not vain, really. When you consider a transplant, you look at everything that's included. People also tend to think about the hair growth, and water retention, etc etc. It's not just quantity, but quality of life. Being self-conscious about scarring and side effects goes under quality. It's normal and totally understandable to worry about this stuff.

The two main types of scars for double lung transplants I've seen are : 1). All the way down the chest, that is a vertical incision from somewhere around the breast/nipple area to somewhere in the stomach area. 2). The other one is an incison horizontally across the chest (for girls, right underneath the breasts). This one also goes pretty far, from one side to the other. But they have to crack the chest, so you take what you can get, I guess. It's newer, I think, but it seems to be a more popular choice for what I see as obvious reasons. The scar seems to be less visible. No matter what scar you get for a double lung transplant, it's going to be a big one, but out of these two choices, the second one seems to be the most popular. There may be others, but those are the only two I've seen.
 
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summer732

New member
I was worried about the scar too but guess what...its nothing. Mine goes right from under my arms and under my breasts so you won't be able to see it. It is also very small and they use glue so its very thin. Also they didn't have to crack my chest this way becuase i'm not wired back shut or anything. So it all worked out well. The scars from the chest tubes willl probably be a little worse than the incision itself. Believe me these are things that I worried about before transplant too, but now i'm so proud of my scar...i show everyone. I'm like so one of those people who shows everyone their war wounds. But its exciting. Believe me too the way i feel right now is worth every scar on my body!!
Hope this helped!
Marge
 
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anonymous

New member
Congratulations Margaret!!!! I'm so happy to see you are doing so well. Please keep us posted on your recovery and therapy.

Keep on rockin and never stop laughing!.... Emily 22 pwcf
 
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IG

Guest
actually I believe when they go underneath they don't have to crack the chest, from what my transplant coordinator told me they only crack the chest when they do the vertical incision. *shrugs* they go underneath the rib cage with the horizontal incision. I dunno I might be wrong though. Anyway that's good for you margaret, it's the opposite way around for my scars. Though neither of them are bad, my actual incision is still pink and noticable. Hopefully the pinkness will go away in another year or so. *shrugs* who knows with these things. Anyway Congrats.
 
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Emily65Roses

New member
Hey that's what I thought, but I wasn't sure of it. If you've had a transplant and say otherwise, you're probably more correct than I am. Heh. <img src="i/expressions/rose.gif" border="0">
 
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ladybug

New member
What wonderful news, Margaret!!!! Keep us posted and rent lots of comedies!!!!

<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
 
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Joblazer86

New member
congrats I bet it feels good to be able to walk up and down the stairs and do normal things without huffing and puffing. I dread the stairs
 
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anonymous

New member
hey just a little note about scars...i have a very large scar on my back from a surgery i had when i was 11. i used tons of vitamin E on it over the years and it really helped. the scar is still noticable but it is now a much more of a skin colour instead of pink. you can just buy the vitamin E pills and pierce them open with a knife and rub it on the scar, it works wonders!
 
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