Lo Detrich - Update

blindhearted

New member
I got this in my email from the Cystic-L newsletter. I thought I would pass it along to you guys in case anyone was wondering how she was doing. I know I was.

"These Things Happen" by the Guess Who's Having Another Crisis? Family

Yes, you guessed correctly. Once again, it is the
Detrich family. It has been nearly a year ago that Lo
Detrich underwent a double-lung transplant at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Missouri . Many
of you received news about our experience before,
during and after this miraculous journey. You prayed
for us. You celebrated with us. You were an integral
part of our experience for which we continue to be
grateful.

On September 2, 2006, we moved back home to Tulsa .
During the next several months, much of life returned
to normal. Lo and I quickly returned to real estate,
thanks to several friends who waited to move until we
were ready to help. Don and I talked about whether to
remodel our home of 20 years or move to a home that
had already been updated. We enjoyed the holidays and
the opportunity to see Jane frequently, as she moved
back to Oklahoma to pursue a career in medicine. We
relished the fact that though the year had been
challenging, it had turned out well, like a
"feel-good" movie.

And we did feel good, especially and respectfully Lo
did -- at least for a while. We willingly returned to
St. Louis for her clinic visits and bronchoscopy
procedures. BJC had become a shelter for us and we
weren't ready to venture too far or too long from that
umbrella of care. At first, we weren't overly
concerned when results showed a mild form of
rejection. Our transplant coordinators shrugged and
prescribed massive doses of steroids for a few days on
several occasions. "These things happen," they'd say.
Our respect for their quality of care is high. So we
also shrugged and prayed that eventually Lo's body
would come to accept her new lungs.

Lo caught a cold in the spring. Who knows if that was
the initial trigger of what followed? It seemed as if
everyone in the city of Tulsa had "sinus problems"
this year. It was almost impossible to escape
exposure. Although Lo immediately started a round of
antibiotics, went to the doctor, got X-rays, etc., she
still developed a pneumonia. Shortly after that she
experienced shortness of breath. We returned to St.
Louis to find out that her body had reacted to the
pneumonia with an inflammatory response. Her lung
function dropped from a very normal 98% to a
frightening 32% in three weeks. Two weeks later, it
had dropped to 23%. The diagnosis: aggressive chronic
rejection. It was nothing that Lo did. It was nothing
that Lo didn't do. "These things happen," the
transplant team said. "We don't know exactly why. They
just do."

In order to stop the progress of the rejection, the
transplant doctors put Lo through a series of rabbit
serum infusions. The treatment virtually eliminated
her lymphocytes and suppressed her immune system more
than ever. She will be even more susceptible to
infection for the next 3 to 6 months. An infection
could make her critically ill, perhaps requiring her
to have to use a ventilator.

Two weeks ago, after watching her breathe 40 times a
minute all night long, we drove back to St. Louis . I
know it was hard for Don to send his three girls away
once more.

Jane drove up with us, providing emotional support and
another set of eyes to confirm that Lo was still
breathing. She flew back to Tulsa almost as soon as we
got to St. Louis . The next morning, X-rays showed
that a portion of her left lung had collapsed. "And I
thought I'd just slept on my shoulder wrong!" Lo felt
pretty redeemed by the diagnosis - as if anyone would
question her ordeal in the first place.

We went back to St. Louis this week to make sure the
pneumothorax was going away. It was not. They also
tested her pulmonary function. It had continued to
slide a bit. The transplant team told us the only way
for Lo to regain enough energy to spend more than a
few hours a day out of bed will be to undergo another
transplant surgery. Consequently, Lo and I will be
moving back to St. Louis in about three weeks for
Round Two.

Meanwhile, to keep things interesting, before we
realized just how sick Lo had become, we happened to
find a house that had already been remodeled and had a
floor plan that seemed ideal for us. We had already
decided a remodel would be too hard on Lo.
Consequently, in an act of almost complete spontaneity
(although we'd looked at dozens of homes over the past
several months), after zooming through a home for half
an hour, we bought it!

With our incredibly generous and supportive co-sales
associates at McGraw, we have been able to wrap up
most of our real estate work, sell our current home
and are now in the middle of packing to move in two
different directions at the same time. And we thought
last year was an adventure!

Needless to say, we will once again appreciate your
prayers. We will keep you posted as to our whereabouts
that is when we figure out where it is that we are!
For those of you who are specific pray-ers, (something
I've learned over the past year), the specific
challenges Lo faces right now include: eating - the
need to gain weight - about 10 to 15 pounds; the need
to be evaluated at a high score (even though she is
working on less than 20% of her lung function, she
doesn't have to be on oxygen which seems strange but
it's true; the need to find a match that her body will
tolerate; the need to exercise - the ability to
exercise is critical in order to be able to handle the
surgery again; and finally, that God's grace will
continue to help our family withstand these
challenges.

It has become a bit far-fetched to dismiss this
situation with the phrase, "these things happen." Then
again, obviously, they do - because they have. It's
just a bit overwhelming that they all seem to be
happening at the same time. Please know as you once
again add Lo to your prayer list that you all have
been on ours as we thank God for the innumerable ways
of support you have been for us.

Love,

The Detrichs
 

blindhearted

New member
I got this in my email from the Cystic-L newsletter. I thought I would pass it along to you guys in case anyone was wondering how she was doing. I know I was.

"These Things Happen" by the Guess Who's Having Another Crisis? Family

Yes, you guessed correctly. Once again, it is the
Detrich family. It has been nearly a year ago that Lo
Detrich underwent a double-lung transplant at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Missouri . Many
of you received news about our experience before,
during and after this miraculous journey. You prayed
for us. You celebrated with us. You were an integral
part of our experience for which we continue to be
grateful.

On September 2, 2006, we moved back home to Tulsa .
During the next several months, much of life returned
to normal. Lo and I quickly returned to real estate,
thanks to several friends who waited to move until we
were ready to help. Don and I talked about whether to
remodel our home of 20 years or move to a home that
had already been updated. We enjoyed the holidays and
the opportunity to see Jane frequently, as she moved
back to Oklahoma to pursue a career in medicine. We
relished the fact that though the year had been
challenging, it had turned out well, like a
"feel-good" movie.

And we did feel good, especially and respectfully Lo
did -- at least for a while. We willingly returned to
St. Louis for her clinic visits and bronchoscopy
procedures. BJC had become a shelter for us and we
weren't ready to venture too far or too long from that
umbrella of care. At first, we weren't overly
concerned when results showed a mild form of
rejection. Our transplant coordinators shrugged and
prescribed massive doses of steroids for a few days on
several occasions. "These things happen," they'd say.
Our respect for their quality of care is high. So we
also shrugged and prayed that eventually Lo's body
would come to accept her new lungs.

Lo caught a cold in the spring. Who knows if that was
the initial trigger of what followed? It seemed as if
everyone in the city of Tulsa had "sinus problems"
this year. It was almost impossible to escape
exposure. Although Lo immediately started a round of
antibiotics, went to the doctor, got X-rays, etc., she
still developed a pneumonia. Shortly after that she
experienced shortness of breath. We returned to St.
Louis to find out that her body had reacted to the
pneumonia with an inflammatory response. Her lung
function dropped from a very normal 98% to a
frightening 32% in three weeks. Two weeks later, it
had dropped to 23%. The diagnosis: aggressive chronic
rejection. It was nothing that Lo did. It was nothing
that Lo didn't do. "These things happen," the
transplant team said. "We don't know exactly why. They
just do."

In order to stop the progress of the rejection, the
transplant doctors put Lo through a series of rabbit
serum infusions. The treatment virtually eliminated
her lymphocytes and suppressed her immune system more
than ever. She will be even more susceptible to
infection for the next 3 to 6 months. An infection
could make her critically ill, perhaps requiring her
to have to use a ventilator.

Two weeks ago, after watching her breathe 40 times a
minute all night long, we drove back to St. Louis . I
know it was hard for Don to send his three girls away
once more.

Jane drove up with us, providing emotional support and
another set of eyes to confirm that Lo was still
breathing. She flew back to Tulsa almost as soon as we
got to St. Louis . The next morning, X-rays showed
that a portion of her left lung had collapsed. "And I
thought I'd just slept on my shoulder wrong!" Lo felt
pretty redeemed by the diagnosis - as if anyone would
question her ordeal in the first place.

We went back to St. Louis this week to make sure the
pneumothorax was going away. It was not. They also
tested her pulmonary function. It had continued to
slide a bit. The transplant team told us the only way
for Lo to regain enough energy to spend more than a
few hours a day out of bed will be to undergo another
transplant surgery. Consequently, Lo and I will be
moving back to St. Louis in about three weeks for
Round Two.

Meanwhile, to keep things interesting, before we
realized just how sick Lo had become, we happened to
find a house that had already been remodeled and had a
floor plan that seemed ideal for us. We had already
decided a remodel would be too hard on Lo.
Consequently, in an act of almost complete spontaneity
(although we'd looked at dozens of homes over the past
several months), after zooming through a home for half
an hour, we bought it!

With our incredibly generous and supportive co-sales
associates at McGraw, we have been able to wrap up
most of our real estate work, sell our current home
and are now in the middle of packing to move in two
different directions at the same time. And we thought
last year was an adventure!

Needless to say, we will once again appreciate your
prayers. We will keep you posted as to our whereabouts
that is when we figure out where it is that we are!
For those of you who are specific pray-ers, (something
I've learned over the past year), the specific
challenges Lo faces right now include: eating - the
need to gain weight - about 10 to 15 pounds; the need
to be evaluated at a high score (even though she is
working on less than 20% of her lung function, she
doesn't have to be on oxygen which seems strange but
it's true; the need to find a match that her body will
tolerate; the need to exercise - the ability to
exercise is critical in order to be able to handle the
surgery again; and finally, that God's grace will
continue to help our family withstand these
challenges.

It has become a bit far-fetched to dismiss this
situation with the phrase, "these things happen." Then
again, obviously, they do - because they have. It's
just a bit overwhelming that they all seem to be
happening at the same time. Please know as you once
again add Lo to your prayer list that you all have
been on ours as we thank God for the innumerable ways
of support you have been for us.

Love,

The Detrichs
 

blindhearted

New member
I got this in my email from the Cystic-L newsletter. I thought I would pass it along to you guys in case anyone was wondering how she was doing. I know I was.

"These Things Happen" by the Guess Who's Having Another Crisis? Family

Yes, you guessed correctly. Once again, it is the
Detrich family. It has been nearly a year ago that Lo
Detrich underwent a double-lung transplant at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Missouri . Many
of you received news about our experience before,
during and after this miraculous journey. You prayed
for us. You celebrated with us. You were an integral
part of our experience for which we continue to be
grateful.

On September 2, 2006, we moved back home to Tulsa .
During the next several months, much of life returned
to normal. Lo and I quickly returned to real estate,
thanks to several friends who waited to move until we
were ready to help. Don and I talked about whether to
remodel our home of 20 years or move to a home that
had already been updated. We enjoyed the holidays and
the opportunity to see Jane frequently, as she moved
back to Oklahoma to pursue a career in medicine. We
relished the fact that though the year had been
challenging, it had turned out well, like a
"feel-good" movie.

And we did feel good, especially and respectfully Lo
did -- at least for a while. We willingly returned to
St. Louis for her clinic visits and bronchoscopy
procedures. BJC had become a shelter for us and we
weren't ready to venture too far or too long from that
umbrella of care. At first, we weren't overly
concerned when results showed a mild form of
rejection. Our transplant coordinators shrugged and
prescribed massive doses of steroids for a few days on
several occasions. "These things happen," they'd say.
Our respect for their quality of care is high. So we
also shrugged and prayed that eventually Lo's body
would come to accept her new lungs.

Lo caught a cold in the spring. Who knows if that was
the initial trigger of what followed? It seemed as if
everyone in the city of Tulsa had "sinus problems"
this year. It was almost impossible to escape
exposure. Although Lo immediately started a round of
antibiotics, went to the doctor, got X-rays, etc., she
still developed a pneumonia. Shortly after that she
experienced shortness of breath. We returned to St.
Louis to find out that her body had reacted to the
pneumonia with an inflammatory response. Her lung
function dropped from a very normal 98% to a
frightening 32% in three weeks. Two weeks later, it
had dropped to 23%. The diagnosis: aggressive chronic
rejection. It was nothing that Lo did. It was nothing
that Lo didn't do. "These things happen," the
transplant team said. "We don't know exactly why. They
just do."

In order to stop the progress of the rejection, the
transplant doctors put Lo through a series of rabbit
serum infusions. The treatment virtually eliminated
her lymphocytes and suppressed her immune system more
than ever. She will be even more susceptible to
infection for the next 3 to 6 months. An infection
could make her critically ill, perhaps requiring her
to have to use a ventilator.

Two weeks ago, after watching her breathe 40 times a
minute all night long, we drove back to St. Louis . I
know it was hard for Don to send his three girls away
once more.

Jane drove up with us, providing emotional support and
another set of eyes to confirm that Lo was still
breathing. She flew back to Tulsa almost as soon as we
got to St. Louis . The next morning, X-rays showed
that a portion of her left lung had collapsed. "And I
thought I'd just slept on my shoulder wrong!" Lo felt
pretty redeemed by the diagnosis - as if anyone would
question her ordeal in the first place.

We went back to St. Louis this week to make sure the
pneumothorax was going away. It was not. They also
tested her pulmonary function. It had continued to
slide a bit. The transplant team told us the only way
for Lo to regain enough energy to spend more than a
few hours a day out of bed will be to undergo another
transplant surgery. Consequently, Lo and I will be
moving back to St. Louis in about three weeks for
Round Two.

Meanwhile, to keep things interesting, before we
realized just how sick Lo had become, we happened to
find a house that had already been remodeled and had a
floor plan that seemed ideal for us. We had already
decided a remodel would be too hard on Lo.
Consequently, in an act of almost complete spontaneity
(although we'd looked at dozens of homes over the past
several months), after zooming through a home for half
an hour, we bought it!

With our incredibly generous and supportive co-sales
associates at McGraw, we have been able to wrap up
most of our real estate work, sell our current home
and are now in the middle of packing to move in two
different directions at the same time. And we thought
last year was an adventure!

Needless to say, we will once again appreciate your
prayers. We will keep you posted as to our whereabouts
that is when we figure out where it is that we are!
For those of you who are specific pray-ers, (something
I've learned over the past year), the specific
challenges Lo faces right now include: eating - the
need to gain weight - about 10 to 15 pounds; the need
to be evaluated at a high score (even though she is
working on less than 20% of her lung function, she
doesn't have to be on oxygen which seems strange but
it's true; the need to find a match that her body will
tolerate; the need to exercise - the ability to
exercise is critical in order to be able to handle the
surgery again; and finally, that God's grace will
continue to help our family withstand these
challenges.

It has become a bit far-fetched to dismiss this
situation with the phrase, "these things happen." Then
again, obviously, they do - because they have. It's
just a bit overwhelming that they all seem to be
happening at the same time. Please know as you once
again add Lo to your prayer list that you all have
been on ours as we thank God for the innumerable ways
of support you have been for us.

Love,

The Detrichs
 

blindhearted

New member
I got this in my email from the Cystic-L newsletter. I thought I would pass it along to you guys in case anyone was wondering how she was doing. I know I was.

"These Things Happen" by the Guess Who's Having Another Crisis? Family

Yes, you guessed correctly. Once again, it is the
Detrich family. It has been nearly a year ago that Lo
Detrich underwent a double-lung transplant at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Missouri . Many
of you received news about our experience before,
during and after this miraculous journey. You prayed
for us. You celebrated with us. You were an integral
part of our experience for which we continue to be
grateful.

On September 2, 2006, we moved back home to Tulsa .
During the next several months, much of life returned
to normal. Lo and I quickly returned to real estate,
thanks to several friends who waited to move until we
were ready to help. Don and I talked about whether to
remodel our home of 20 years or move to a home that
had already been updated. We enjoyed the holidays and
the opportunity to see Jane frequently, as she moved
back to Oklahoma to pursue a career in medicine. We
relished the fact that though the year had been
challenging, it had turned out well, like a
"feel-good" movie.

And we did feel good, especially and respectfully Lo
did -- at least for a while. We willingly returned to
St. Louis for her clinic visits and bronchoscopy
procedures. BJC had become a shelter for us and we
weren't ready to venture too far or too long from that
umbrella of care. At first, we weren't overly
concerned when results showed a mild form of
rejection. Our transplant coordinators shrugged and
prescribed massive doses of steroids for a few days on
several occasions. "These things happen," they'd say.
Our respect for their quality of care is high. So we
also shrugged and prayed that eventually Lo's body
would come to accept her new lungs.

Lo caught a cold in the spring. Who knows if that was
the initial trigger of what followed? It seemed as if
everyone in the city of Tulsa had "sinus problems"
this year. It was almost impossible to escape
exposure. Although Lo immediately started a round of
antibiotics, went to the doctor, got X-rays, etc., she
still developed a pneumonia. Shortly after that she
experienced shortness of breath. We returned to St.
Louis to find out that her body had reacted to the
pneumonia with an inflammatory response. Her lung
function dropped from a very normal 98% to a
frightening 32% in three weeks. Two weeks later, it
had dropped to 23%. The diagnosis: aggressive chronic
rejection. It was nothing that Lo did. It was nothing
that Lo didn't do. "These things happen," the
transplant team said. "We don't know exactly why. They
just do."

In order to stop the progress of the rejection, the
transplant doctors put Lo through a series of rabbit
serum infusions. The treatment virtually eliminated
her lymphocytes and suppressed her immune system more
than ever. She will be even more susceptible to
infection for the next 3 to 6 months. An infection
could make her critically ill, perhaps requiring her
to have to use a ventilator.

Two weeks ago, after watching her breathe 40 times a
minute all night long, we drove back to St. Louis . I
know it was hard for Don to send his three girls away
once more.

Jane drove up with us, providing emotional support and
another set of eyes to confirm that Lo was still
breathing. She flew back to Tulsa almost as soon as we
got to St. Louis . The next morning, X-rays showed
that a portion of her left lung had collapsed. "And I
thought I'd just slept on my shoulder wrong!" Lo felt
pretty redeemed by the diagnosis - as if anyone would
question her ordeal in the first place.

We went back to St. Louis this week to make sure the
pneumothorax was going away. It was not. They also
tested her pulmonary function. It had continued to
slide a bit. The transplant team told us the only way
for Lo to regain enough energy to spend more than a
few hours a day out of bed will be to undergo another
transplant surgery. Consequently, Lo and I will be
moving back to St. Louis in about three weeks for
Round Two.

Meanwhile, to keep things interesting, before we
realized just how sick Lo had become, we happened to
find a house that had already been remodeled and had a
floor plan that seemed ideal for us. We had already
decided a remodel would be too hard on Lo.
Consequently, in an act of almost complete spontaneity
(although we'd looked at dozens of homes over the past
several months), after zooming through a home for half
an hour, we bought it!

With our incredibly generous and supportive co-sales
associates at McGraw, we have been able to wrap up
most of our real estate work, sell our current home
and are now in the middle of packing to move in two
different directions at the same time. And we thought
last year was an adventure!

Needless to say, we will once again appreciate your
prayers. We will keep you posted as to our whereabouts
that is when we figure out where it is that we are!
For those of you who are specific pray-ers, (something
I've learned over the past year), the specific
challenges Lo faces right now include: eating - the
need to gain weight - about 10 to 15 pounds; the need
to be evaluated at a high score (even though she is
working on less than 20% of her lung function, she
doesn't have to be on oxygen which seems strange but
it's true; the need to find a match that her body will
tolerate; the need to exercise - the ability to
exercise is critical in order to be able to handle the
surgery again; and finally, that God's grace will
continue to help our family withstand these
challenges.

It has become a bit far-fetched to dismiss this
situation with the phrase, "these things happen." Then
again, obviously, they do - because they have. It's
just a bit overwhelming that they all seem to be
happening at the same time. Please know as you once
again add Lo to your prayer list that you all have
been on ours as we thank God for the innumerable ways
of support you have been for us.

Love,

The Detrichs
 

blindhearted

New member
I got this in my email from the Cystic-L newsletter. I thought I would pass it along to you guys in case anyone was wondering how she was doing. I know I was.

"These Things Happen" by the Guess Who's Having Another Crisis? Family

Yes, you guessed correctly. Once again, it is the
Detrich family. It has been nearly a year ago that Lo
Detrich underwent a double-lung transplant at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Missouri . Many
of you received news about our experience before,
during and after this miraculous journey. You prayed
for us. You celebrated with us. You were an integral
part of our experience for which we continue to be
grateful.

On September 2, 2006, we moved back home to Tulsa .
During the next several months, much of life returned
to normal. Lo and I quickly returned to real estate,
thanks to several friends who waited to move until we
were ready to help. Don and I talked about whether to
remodel our home of 20 years or move to a home that
had already been updated. We enjoyed the holidays and
the opportunity to see Jane frequently, as she moved
back to Oklahoma to pursue a career in medicine. We
relished the fact that though the year had been
challenging, it had turned out well, like a
"feel-good" movie.

And we did feel good, especially and respectfully Lo
did -- at least for a while. We willingly returned to
St. Louis for her clinic visits and bronchoscopy
procedures. BJC had become a shelter for us and we
weren't ready to venture too far or too long from that
umbrella of care. At first, we weren't overly
concerned when results showed a mild form of
rejection. Our transplant coordinators shrugged and
prescribed massive doses of steroids for a few days on
several occasions. "These things happen," they'd say.
Our respect for their quality of care is high. So we
also shrugged and prayed that eventually Lo's body
would come to accept her new lungs.

Lo caught a cold in the spring. Who knows if that was
the initial trigger of what followed? It seemed as if
everyone in the city of Tulsa had "sinus problems"
this year. It was almost impossible to escape
exposure. Although Lo immediately started a round of
antibiotics, went to the doctor, got X-rays, etc., she
still developed a pneumonia. Shortly after that she
experienced shortness of breath. We returned to St.
Louis to find out that her body had reacted to the
pneumonia with an inflammatory response. Her lung
function dropped from a very normal 98% to a
frightening 32% in three weeks. Two weeks later, it
had dropped to 23%. The diagnosis: aggressive chronic
rejection. It was nothing that Lo did. It was nothing
that Lo didn't do. "These things happen," the
transplant team said. "We don't know exactly why. They
just do."

In order to stop the progress of the rejection, the
transplant doctors put Lo through a series of rabbit
serum infusions. The treatment virtually eliminated
her lymphocytes and suppressed her immune system more
than ever. She will be even more susceptible to
infection for the next 3 to 6 months. An infection
could make her critically ill, perhaps requiring her
to have to use a ventilator.

Two weeks ago, after watching her breathe 40 times a
minute all night long, we drove back to St. Louis . I
know it was hard for Don to send his three girls away
once more.

Jane drove up with us, providing emotional support and
another set of eyes to confirm that Lo was still
breathing. She flew back to Tulsa almost as soon as we
got to St. Louis . The next morning, X-rays showed
that a portion of her left lung had collapsed. "And I
thought I'd just slept on my shoulder wrong!" Lo felt
pretty redeemed by the diagnosis - as if anyone would
question her ordeal in the first place.

We went back to St. Louis this week to make sure the
pneumothorax was going away. It was not. They also
tested her pulmonary function. It had continued to
slide a bit. The transplant team told us the only way
for Lo to regain enough energy to spend more than a
few hours a day out of bed will be to undergo another
transplant surgery. Consequently, Lo and I will be
moving back to St. Louis in about three weeks for
Round Two.

Meanwhile, to keep things interesting, before we
realized just how sick Lo had become, we happened to
find a house that had already been remodeled and had a
floor plan that seemed ideal for us. We had already
decided a remodel would be too hard on Lo.
Consequently, in an act of almost complete spontaneity
(although we'd looked at dozens of homes over the past
several months), after zooming through a home for half
an hour, we bought it!

With our incredibly generous and supportive co-sales
associates at McGraw, we have been able to wrap up
most of our real estate work, sell our current home
and are now in the middle of packing to move in two
different directions at the same time. And we thought
last year was an adventure!

Needless to say, we will once again appreciate your
prayers. We will keep you posted as to our whereabouts
that is when we figure out where it is that we are!
For those of you who are specific pray-ers, (something
I've learned over the past year), the specific
challenges Lo faces right now include: eating - the
need to gain weight - about 10 to 15 pounds; the need
to be evaluated at a high score (even though she is
working on less than 20% of her lung function, she
doesn't have to be on oxygen which seems strange but
it's true; the need to find a match that her body will
tolerate; the need to exercise - the ability to
exercise is critical in order to be able to handle the
surgery again; and finally, that God's grace will
continue to help our family withstand these
challenges.

It has become a bit far-fetched to dismiss this
situation with the phrase, "these things happen." Then
again, obviously, they do - because they have. It's
just a bit overwhelming that they all seem to be
happening at the same time. Please know as you once
again add Lo to your prayer list that you all have
been on ours as we thank God for the innumerable ways
of support you have been for us.

Love,

The Detrichs
 

blindhearted

New member
I got this in my email from the Cystic-L newsletter. I thought I would pass it along to you guys in case anyone was wondering how she was doing. I know I was.

"These Things Happen" by the Guess Who's Having Another Crisis? Family

Yes, you guessed correctly. Once again, it is the
Detrich family. It has been nearly a year ago that Lo
Detrich underwent a double-lung transplant at
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Missouri . Many
of you received news about our experience before,
during and after this miraculous journey. You prayed
for us. You celebrated with us. You were an integral
part of our experience for which we continue to be
grateful.

On September 2, 2006, we moved back home to Tulsa .
During the next several months, much of life returned
to normal. Lo and I quickly returned to real estate,
thanks to several friends who waited to move until we
were ready to help. Don and I talked about whether to
remodel our home of 20 years or move to a home that
had already been updated. We enjoyed the holidays and
the opportunity to see Jane frequently, as she moved
back to Oklahoma to pursue a career in medicine. We
relished the fact that though the year had been
challenging, it had turned out well, like a
"feel-good" movie.

And we did feel good, especially and respectfully Lo
did -- at least for a while. We willingly returned to
St. Louis for her clinic visits and bronchoscopy
procedures. BJC had become a shelter for us and we
weren't ready to venture too far or too long from that
umbrella of care. At first, we weren't overly
concerned when results showed a mild form of
rejection. Our transplant coordinators shrugged and
prescribed massive doses of steroids for a few days on
several occasions. "These things happen," they'd say.
Our respect for their quality of care is high. So we
also shrugged and prayed that eventually Lo's body
would come to accept her new lungs.

Lo caught a cold in the spring. Who knows if that was
the initial trigger of what followed? It seemed as if
everyone in the city of Tulsa had "sinus problems"
this year. It was almost impossible to escape
exposure. Although Lo immediately started a round of
antibiotics, went to the doctor, got X-rays, etc., she
still developed a pneumonia. Shortly after that she
experienced shortness of breath. We returned to St.
Louis to find out that her body had reacted to the
pneumonia with an inflammatory response. Her lung
function dropped from a very normal 98% to a
frightening 32% in three weeks. Two weeks later, it
had dropped to 23%. The diagnosis: aggressive chronic
rejection. It was nothing that Lo did. It was nothing
that Lo didn't do. "These things happen," the
transplant team said. "We don't know exactly why. They
just do."

In order to stop the progress of the rejection, the
transplant doctors put Lo through a series of rabbit
serum infusions. The treatment virtually eliminated
her lymphocytes and suppressed her immune system more
than ever. She will be even more susceptible to
infection for the next 3 to 6 months. An infection
could make her critically ill, perhaps requiring her
to have to use a ventilator.

Two weeks ago, after watching her breathe 40 times a
minute all night long, we drove back to St. Louis . I
know it was hard for Don to send his three girls away
once more.

Jane drove up with us, providing emotional support and
another set of eyes to confirm that Lo was still
breathing. She flew back to Tulsa almost as soon as we
got to St. Louis . The next morning, X-rays showed
that a portion of her left lung had collapsed. "And I
thought I'd just slept on my shoulder wrong!" Lo felt
pretty redeemed by the diagnosis - as if anyone would
question her ordeal in the first place.

We went back to St. Louis this week to make sure the
pneumothorax was going away. It was not. They also
tested her pulmonary function. It had continued to
slide a bit. The transplant team told us the only way
for Lo to regain enough energy to spend more than a
few hours a day out of bed will be to undergo another
transplant surgery. Consequently, Lo and I will be
moving back to St. Louis in about three weeks for
Round Two.

Meanwhile, to keep things interesting, before we
realized just how sick Lo had become, we happened to
find a house that had already been remodeled and had a
floor plan that seemed ideal for us. We had already
decided a remodel would be too hard on Lo.
Consequently, in an act of almost complete spontaneity
(although we'd looked at dozens of homes over the past
several months), after zooming through a home for half
an hour, we bought it!

With our incredibly generous and supportive co-sales
associates at McGraw, we have been able to wrap up
most of our real estate work, sell our current home
and are now in the middle of packing to move in two
different directions at the same time. And we thought
last year was an adventure!

Needless to say, we will once again appreciate your
prayers. We will keep you posted as to our whereabouts
that is when we figure out where it is that we are!
For those of you who are specific pray-ers, (something
I've learned over the past year), the specific
challenges Lo faces right now include: eating - the
need to gain weight - about 10 to 15 pounds; the need
to be evaluated at a high score (even though she is
working on less than 20% of her lung function, she
doesn't have to be on oxygen which seems strange but
it's true; the need to find a match that her body will
tolerate; the need to exercise - the ability to
exercise is critical in order to be able to handle the
surgery again; and finally, that God's grace will
continue to help our family withstand these
challenges.

It has become a bit far-fetched to dismiss this
situation with the phrase, "these things happen." Then
again, obviously, they do - because they have. It's
just a bit overwhelming that they all seem to be
happening at the same time. Please know as you once
again add Lo to your prayer list that you all have
been on ours as we thank God for the innumerable ways
of support you have been for us.

Love,

The Detrichs
 

ladybug

New member
Wow... what a journey. I will of course keep them in my prayers. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder about her every single day.
 

ladybug

New member
Wow... what a journey. I will of course keep them in my prayers. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder about her every single day.
 

ladybug

New member
Wow... what a journey. I will of course keep them in my prayers. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder about her every single day.
 

ladybug

New member
Wow... what a journey. I will of course keep them in my prayers. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder about her every single day.
 

ladybug

New member
Wow... what a journey. I will of course keep them in my prayers. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder about her every single day.
 

ladybug

New member
Wow... what a journey. I will of course keep them in my prayers. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder about her every single day.
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
Oh wow....what a long journey! I will keep them in my thoughts.
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
Oh wow....what a long journey! I will keep them in my thoughts.
 
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