We (my daughter, Nicole, son-in-law, Dre, and Karen, my sister-in-law) attended Stanford Medical health in April 2015–We had a week of appointments scheduled. I was admitted for severe Pulmonary Arterial hypertension on the third day and was incarcerated for about 10 days after that. Stanford came up with some super strong Meds that helped (mostly) a lot. They saw me for several days each month but eventually rejected me for lung transplant. Little did we know that was lung transplant 101 class.

UCSF was never afraid of whatever Stanford feared. They started me off super fast, but then slowed down to ‘stop’. Nicole came up with the idea of three of us inundating them with calls. They took the bait! At that point, ‘they’ had not noticed that I was on 10 liters of oxygen per minute. Once aware of that, they did everything to get me on THE LIST! The biggest hurdle was financial and many of my loved ones, and even peeps that did not know me, rose to the occasion and donated money’s to the Help Hope Live fundraising campaign. I was listed April 14, 2017 at 2 pm, and CALLED on MAY 5th at 11:00 am, 3 hours short of three weeks.. LOOK AT GOD!

The Pre-lung transplant coordinator told me to bring all my oxygen, Meds etc because it was 50:50 that I would get the transplant. They didn’t realize that those were my lungs!!!! A successful double lung transplant that was completed in the wee hours of May 6th.

I was golden in the hospital, ahead of everyone. They just happened to have done 3 other lung transplant operations that week. I was discharged on May 19th and CODED from a heart attack on MAY 23rd after seeing the Doctor that very morning, getting a clean bill of health, and picking up Meds from the pharmacy across the street. My favorite gal, who also happens to be my daughter, Nicole, held it together, solicited the help of the only two men in the parking garage; together they got me across the street to the emergency room, where they flung me around and did massively, intense CPR; God used them to bring me back.

Back in the ICU!!! Having had my favorite sweater cut off and losing my favorite reading glasses. Diagnosed as having ‘Flash Pulmonary Edema’ related to high blood pressures for a few days. Of course I remember nothing.

I (We) were all a little bit shy at the next discharge, very nervous when I went to the pharmacy that next week. But hey, I’m making progress baby! I have more uncomfortable procedures to go through, But GOD has that TOO.

Here I stand down da road at the intersection of Faith Street, Compound Interest Avenue, Belief Lane and God’s Narrow Way. Meet me there, I’m waiting on you!