February 19, 2022
Ron was doing so good, off oxygen completely, but then got pneumonia and ended up back at the hospital on Thanksgiving Day. He went into pulmonary arrest, his heart stopped and he ended up on the ventilator. They are trying to wean him off the ventilator, but his kidneys shut down so he is getting dialysis 3 times a week right now also which tires him out. We originally planned on staying in Chicago until the end of June. It now looks like we will be here longer than that. I'm not sure how we can afford it. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. If you can't donate, please share this on your social media sites and pray. ♥
September 6, 2021
Ron is home from the hospital and getting stronger every day. It's taking a little longer for him because of his age, but now that he is back at the condo with me, he is working really hard. Today he rode his scooter outside with me to take the dog for her walk. Just the act of getting off the couch and transferring to his scooter, or sitting up on the couch to watch tv is a good thing. I've ordered a recliner because these couches are not the most comfortable things to sit on. I don't sit on them because they hurt my back. It should be in within a week to a week and a half. Really can't afford it, but if it helps him heal faster, it will be worth it.
August 27, 2021
Ron will be discharged from the rehab hospital tomorrow. After grabbing a bite to eat, we have to go to the pharmacy and pick up the 22 prescriptions that they have ready. They are still working on 3 more. Then at 12:30 he starts his visits with each of the transplant team members. That will go until 4:00 or so and then we get to come beck to our little apartment in Chicago. It's been 7 weeks that seems like 7 months but also seems like just a few days if that makes sense. Hopefully the VA will cover these medicines, but it will take them at least a month to get them all ordered and ready. Ron has appointments with the pulmonologist on the 2nd of Sept and his primary care doctor on the 9th. They both work at the hospital that did Ron's transplant plus works a couple days at the VA. So they took Ron and they will be in constant contact with the transplant team and will know what meds are needed. But until then, we are on our own.
August 12, 2021
Ron walked 52 feet today! That is a real accomplishment that he hasn't been able to do in about 6 years! And all with no oxygen. The anti rejection meds cause tremors so they had him working on things like shaving himself and using weighted utensils to help him feed himself. It was a good day but tiring for him.
August 8, 2021
Ron is currently at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab (a rehabilitation hospital). They said that usually he will get 3 to 3 1/2 hours of therapy every day during the week. Saturday will be a lighter schedule and Sunday is a day that is pretty much a day of rest. Because he didn't get there until Thursday night, and Friday was mainly assessments, they worked him pretty hard today. I was so proud of him. You could see how hard some things were for him to do and how much it hurt. The therapist said not to push past what he could take. Ron told her that if he didn't, it would take longer for him to get home.
August 3, 2021
Ron finished all of his testing and we got moved to Chicago from Oklahoma on June 1st, 2021. He got put on the transplant list on July 2nd, and by the Grace of God, he received the gift of a lung on July 8th. They also cleaned up his other lung by doing some reduction surgery on it. He has been in the hospital ever since. The last chest tube came out today, so he will probably get transferred to the rehab hospital on Wed where he will spend at least 3 weeks building back all the muscle tone he has lost over the last few years when he couldn't walk due to shortness of breath. He hasn't had oxygen supplements now for a couple of weeks. Everything is looking great for a full recovery, but since lung transplants have the highest rate of rejection and infection of any organ transplants, we have to live in Chicago for a year so the doctors can monitor him. This is extremely expensive, so anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated. If you cannot donate, please share this with all your friends across all social networks and pray~ Thank you~
