Lo Detrich has battled cystic fibrosis for more than 20 years. Dealing
with chronic rejection following a lung transplant, Lo insists she be
back in Tulsa on her birthday, June 30.
Lo Detrich has another fight on her hands Anyone who knows Lo Detrich knows she is a fighter.
When she was 3 months old she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. She and
her family battled that killer for more than 20 years. As CF began to
take its inevitable toll late in 2005, Lo became eligible for a double
lung transplant. She and her mother, Terry, moved into a condo in St.
Louis in January of 2006 and began the long wait for a donor. In June the
22-year-old Tulsan received, literally in the nick of time, a double lung
transplant at Barnes Jewish Hospital.
In the ensuing months Lo recovered from the surgery and began what seemed
to be a new life. She jogged, she played tennis, she sold houses. The
one-year anniversary of her transplant was approaching.
Lo now faces another fight.
Recently she began having trouble breathing again. Of course, as Lo
pointed out in an e-mail last week, with the humidity in Oklahoma it's
difficult for anyone to breathe. The humidity, unfortunately, was not the
problem.
She and Terry traveled back to St. Louis last week for further tests. The
always upbeat and often funny Lo informed her e-mail partners that she
and her mom were "hoisting the jib and mast" and headed for St. Louis --
a reference to the downpours of rain in Oklahoma and Missouri in the last
week or so. Actually, it's a main not a mast, but I'm not about to pick a
fight with Lo.
Lo underwent tests Wednesday and the news was not good. She is in chronic
rejection. Transplant recipients often have trouble adjusting to their
new organs. In even the best of circumstances, they live the rest of
their lives taking anti-rejection drugs.
Often transplant recipients have acute rejection. Lo had experienced
that. It can be solved by altering anti-rejection drugs and tweaking the
mix.
Chronic rejection, however, is much more serious. It is difficult to
detect and can show up anywhere and anytime. Lungs are the only
transplanted organ that the body never forgets is foreign.
Lo has lost 80 percent of her lung capacity and even under the best of
circumstances she will never regain that. But the always positive Lo
quickly points out that she lived 21 years with diminished lung capacity.
She figures she could do it again.
The only way to deal with chronic rejection is to be very aggressive. For
the next seven days, Lo will undergo a series of treatments to try to
stop the rejection. If that doesn't work, she will begin radiation. If
that doesn't work, the only solution will be another lung transplant.
The treatment is not without its dangers. Lo will be completely
immuno-supressed, which means her body will be susceptible to other
germs. She will be in isolation and will have to wear, as Lo puts it, "a
nifty white space suit and moon shoes."
Just because Lo remains positive doesn't mean she doesn't grasp the
gravity of her situation. "I have always been calm and optimistic when it
comes to my health. I still am. However, right now, it's just a very
difficult time because there are so many unknown factors. I just want to
know what's going on so I can focus on a plan."
Even during her bout with CF, Lo championed her causes. She was one of
the best fundraisers CF ever had. Her mother once said that Lo was born
with a microphone in her hand. She was always willing to do what she
could for CF research. In the last year she also became, not
surprisingly, a proponent for organ donation.
She certainly wishes she could be on hand for Saturday's CF Great
Strides, Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser. It is the CF
Foundation's most important and largest fundraiser. Since its inception
in 1988, it has grown. And Lo was right there for most of it. The event,
which is for the whole family, begins at 9 a.m. at the Tulsa Zoo.
Participants are encouraged to collect donations.
Also the 26th annual Cystic Fibrosis Golf Classic will take place Monday
at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow. All proceeds of the
tournament will benefit the Sooner Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation.
In the e-mail that Lo sent last week, she billed herself as
"reporter/writer/editor/asker/answerer, all Lo Detrich." And she gets
high marks from me in all categories.
She asked herself: What now? Her answer? "We wait. We pray. We laugh. We
cry. . . . One thing I know for sure, I am surrounded by angels and
prayers and no matter what, I'll be just fine."
Typical of Lo, Terry says she plans on being back in Tulsa, and soon. The
family just purchased a new house with a tiered terrace that Lo loves.
So, Lo insists that she be there on her June 30 birthday, sitting outside
and eating Chicago-style pizza. Don't bet against her.
It doesn't seem fair that someone so young and so vibrant should have to
be tested with so many life-threatening battles.
But Lo would be the first to tell you that fairness has nothing to do
with it. She is not one to feel sorry for herself.
And as bad as things look now, Terry says that "We feel like this last
year has been a gift. It makes you appreciate every day."
So, now Lo faces another battle. Those who know her, know very well that
there will be no surrender. They know a fighter when they see one.
with chronic rejection following a lung transplant, Lo insists she be
back in Tulsa on her birthday, June 30.
Lo Detrich has another fight on her hands Anyone who knows Lo Detrich knows she is a fighter.
When she was 3 months old she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. She and
her family battled that killer for more than 20 years. As CF began to
take its inevitable toll late in 2005, Lo became eligible for a double
lung transplant. She and her mother, Terry, moved into a condo in St.
Louis in January of 2006 and began the long wait for a donor. In June the
22-year-old Tulsan received, literally in the nick of time, a double lung
transplant at Barnes Jewish Hospital.
In the ensuing months Lo recovered from the surgery and began what seemed
to be a new life. She jogged, she played tennis, she sold houses. The
one-year anniversary of her transplant was approaching.
Lo now faces another fight.
Recently she began having trouble breathing again. Of course, as Lo
pointed out in an e-mail last week, with the humidity in Oklahoma it's
difficult for anyone to breathe. The humidity, unfortunately, was not the
problem.
She and Terry traveled back to St. Louis last week for further tests. The
always upbeat and often funny Lo informed her e-mail partners that she
and her mom were "hoisting the jib and mast" and headed for St. Louis --
a reference to the downpours of rain in Oklahoma and Missouri in the last
week or so. Actually, it's a main not a mast, but I'm not about to pick a
fight with Lo.
Lo underwent tests Wednesday and the news was not good. She is in chronic
rejection. Transplant recipients often have trouble adjusting to their
new organs. In even the best of circumstances, they live the rest of
their lives taking anti-rejection drugs.
Often transplant recipients have acute rejection. Lo had experienced
that. It can be solved by altering anti-rejection drugs and tweaking the
mix.
Chronic rejection, however, is much more serious. It is difficult to
detect and can show up anywhere and anytime. Lungs are the only
transplanted organ that the body never forgets is foreign.
Lo has lost 80 percent of her lung capacity and even under the best of
circumstances she will never regain that. But the always positive Lo
quickly points out that she lived 21 years with diminished lung capacity.
She figures she could do it again.
The only way to deal with chronic rejection is to be very aggressive. For
the next seven days, Lo will undergo a series of treatments to try to
stop the rejection. If that doesn't work, she will begin radiation. If
that doesn't work, the only solution will be another lung transplant.
The treatment is not without its dangers. Lo will be completely
immuno-supressed, which means her body will be susceptible to other
germs. She will be in isolation and will have to wear, as Lo puts it, "a
nifty white space suit and moon shoes."
Just because Lo remains positive doesn't mean she doesn't grasp the
gravity of her situation. "I have always been calm and optimistic when it
comes to my health. I still am. However, right now, it's just a very
difficult time because there are so many unknown factors. I just want to
know what's going on so I can focus on a plan."
Even during her bout with CF, Lo championed her causes. She was one of
the best fundraisers CF ever had. Her mother once said that Lo was born
with a microphone in her hand. She was always willing to do what she
could for CF research. In the last year she also became, not
surprisingly, a proponent for organ donation.
She certainly wishes she could be on hand for Saturday's CF Great
Strides, Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser. It is the CF
Foundation's most important and largest fundraiser. Since its inception
in 1988, it has grown. And Lo was right there for most of it. The event,
which is for the whole family, begins at 9 a.m. at the Tulsa Zoo.
Participants are encouraged to collect donations.
Also the 26th annual Cystic Fibrosis Golf Classic will take place Monday
at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow. All proceeds of the
tournament will benefit the Sooner Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation.
In the e-mail that Lo sent last week, she billed herself as
"reporter/writer/editor/asker/answerer, all Lo Detrich." And she gets
high marks from me in all categories.
She asked herself: What now? Her answer? "We wait. We pray. We laugh. We
cry. . . . One thing I know for sure, I am surrounded by angels and
prayers and no matter what, I'll be just fine."
Typical of Lo, Terry says she plans on being back in Tulsa, and soon. The
family just purchased a new house with a tiered terrace that Lo loves.
So, Lo insists that she be there on her June 30 birthday, sitting outside
and eating Chicago-style pizza. Don't bet against her.
It doesn't seem fair that someone so young and so vibrant should have to
be tested with so many life-threatening battles.
But Lo would be the first to tell you that fairness has nothing to do
with it. She is not one to feel sorry for herself.
And as bad as things look now, Terry says that "We feel like this last
year has been a gift. It makes you appreciate every day."
So, now Lo faces another battle. Those who know her, know very well that
there will be no surrender. They know a fighter when they see one.