FIRST DATE

Well, Monica and I went out to eat at a "sit down, get served" restaurant tonight. It is the first time since the transplant that we have gone out in public to eat. I felt pretty "normal" without the wheelchair and the oxygen tanks. Yes, I said tanks, because before the transplant, just to go out, I needed so much supplemental oxygen, that I needed to take two tanks of oxygen. I was able to sit in a booth, something I haven't been able to do for almost two years. It just felt so good. I forgot to mention before that The Arizona Diamondbacks partner with St. Joesephs hospital, and the 18 people who have had lung transplants at St. Joes, are invited to the Diamondback game on Wed. Sept 17th. I guess we will even get to sit in a skybox! Not much of a baseball fan, but it will be fun. Monica and I are looking forward to the evening. This picture was taken when I was in the hospital in May of 2007. This was part of my occupational therapy. It is probably the last time I will ever make and decorate a cake!

CLINICS,REHAB, AND SUPPORT GROUP

Today was a busy day. Chest Xray, clinics at the transplant center, pulmonary rehab, and then the once monthly support group for people who have lung disease, who are pre or post transplant, and their family members or caregivers. It is pretty encouraging, and everyone is so grateful for their new life, or the hope of a new life. Last week I sent an email out about possibly needing to have some fluid removed from my left side. Well, today one of my Dr.'s said it would not be necessary at this time, today's chest x ray showed there was actually less fluid. The transplant team at St. Josephs is wonderful. They are very strict, but also very human, understanding, and they encourage us to get out there and live again. I can't wait. This weekend, we are going to try to go to Black Canyon City. It sounds like a big place, when actually it is a small town. There is a home cooking restaurant that we used to go to often. My first out of the city trip in almost 2 years. The last time we went there was Nov. 2006 to pick up some Christmas gifts for family. Maybe well will do some shopping! By the way, this photo was taken on our way up to Black Canyon City, just two weeks before I got sick in Nov. 2006.

BACKTRACKING A BIT

This is the special roto bed I was in for a few weeks back in Dec. 2006 and part of Jan. 2007 . It moves side to side so the fluid in the lungs won't settle. I am going to backtrack a little bit, and post a brief history of my illness for those of you who may not know. This was originally posted on the NTAF web site. It is still there, but putting it here may be more convenient. Monica wrote this for that site so I will take it directly from her words."As most of you know, since November 29, 2006 Marty has been in a battle with lung disease. He had spent many months, a good part of 2007, at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn. During his stay, he was tested for many, many things, all to come back with "negative" results. He was in and out of the hospital a few times throughout 2007, but in February 2008 he began requiring more supplemental oxygen. He had a lung biopsy in March 2008. It showed a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis. So, what we thought began as a normal cool in 2006, ended up being life threatening His pulmonologist, Dr. Alpa Shah, then referred him to The Heart and Lung Institute at St. Josephs Hospital in Phoenix. After the consultation with the transplant team, we decided to go ahead with the lung transplant. We began the evaluation process to see if Marty would even meet the criteria on July 16 and completed the tests on the 18th. The transplant team met on the 24th of July and decided that Marty would be a good candidate for a lung transplant, basically health enough to make it through, and sick enough to need one. He was officially "listed" on that same Thursday afternoon. We went about our daily business as best we could, always carrying our phones with us, waiting for the call. Well, the transplant nurse coordinator, Kate, called Marty on Saturday the 26th with the question; "Marty, how would you feel about getting some new lungs today?" That call sure came a lot quicker than we thought. His response was a definite YES, and we headed off to the hospital." That is a very abbreviated version. I will try to upload some pictures of my stay at Scottsdale Healthcare. For as long as I was there, there aren't really too many photos, but there are a few.

By the looks of it, I am doing good

Well, I guess I am doing much better now. These were taken while I was at Scottsdale Healthcare. After being released from the ICU, I went to the rehab floor so I could learn to walk again (2/07). They did wonders. The other picture is on my birthday, after being readmitted to the hospital (6/07). My Dr.(pictured with me) actually sang Happy Birthday to me.