When Jens tells people about a transplant, he hears many reactions. One reaction is, “Why don’t you just go get one now?” Jens has fought hard to delay having a transplant because it does not solve all of his problems. A transplant exchanges one set of issues to deal with for another.
Why have a transplant?
- to extend his life
- better quality of life
- the ability to breathe normally
- the risk of death without is greater than the risk of death due to surgery
Why he’s waited…
- a lung transplant does not cure CF
- he felt that he had more “mileage” left in his current lungs
Jens has mostly felt that he wants to get as much mileage out of his current lungs as possible. But, he also does not want to wait too long so that he is not healthy to endure a transplant. He needs to be “sick enough to have one, but healthy enough to get one.” This is why he has worked so hard to stay as strong as possible.
When the time comes, Jens will undergo his transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Jens and his family have chosen this facility due to its close proximity to his home base (Philadelphia) and the center’s acceptance of CF patients with B. Cepecia. They have been impressed with the doctors there throughout the transplant evaluations they have attended there over the past 5 years. http://www.upmc.com/Services/transplant/heart-lung-transplants/lung/Pages/default.aspx
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