Monday November 28, 2005 3:00 PM
My wife is preparing for a double lung transplant at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, we are in the Chattanooga, TN area so she will have to relocate in late December. I have to stay home to work, I plan on flying to Pittsburgh as soon as I get the call that she is going into surgery. Does anyone who was or is in a similar situation have any advice how to prepare for the call? About how long does this surgery take on average (how much time do I have to get there)? Do any airlines offer a discount fare for me to travel to Pittsburgh for this medical emergency? Can I buy a ticket now and just hold it until I need it (first flight available)? Any help would be greatly appreciated?Jesse
Question for anyone who has gone through the transplant procedure:
What should I expect when I am able to see her for the first time after the surgery?
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Jesse
Jesse,
I also had to relocate 700 miles to get my transplant. It is so hard to plan, and the best laid plans change, because the transplant never arrives like you plan.
Most times when a patient gets the call for lungs, it takes some hours for the surgey to begin, so flying there should work out okay and most time you have hours to spare and end up sitting around. When donor recovery is made there are many teams there to recover organs and the heart and lungs are the last to be taken so they can circulate blood and oxygen to the organs to keep them viable.
Call some airlines and question their policies and choices. When I had my tx, they did have a discount for airline, not sure that exists anymore.
Surgery can take 4-13 hours.... just all depends on what they find, and how things progress. My surgery was 12 hours.
You probably will be allowed to see her quite soon after the surgery ends. They put them in a recovery area for a short time, then moved to ICU. I saw my sister after her transplant about 1 hour after the surgery ended. When I had my transplant, my brother and boyfriend saw me about 1/2 hour after the surgery ended. Remember you are seeing them, be prepared for the tubes and machines, and also be prepared that they may not be awake yet or know what is going on completely.
Who is staying with your wife while you are back home working? She must have a caretaker right?
JOanne Schum
luckylungsforjo@aol.com