She had left her job after his diagnosis for early retirement, but returned within a few weeks, realizing that she had to continue working for her own fulfillment and helping others.
“I knew I wasn’t ready to leave yet, and I still had a lot to give to help people. The interesting thing about all of this is the lessons I learned even more. I mean, after 42 years of nursing, I’m still growing.”
Meanwhile, Brad underwent the lung transplant in May 2024, grateful for the donor match and ready for a hopeful future. Although the new lungs were compatible, the drug side effects and complicating challenges were not easy. These included a sternotomy procedure because his sternum didn’t fuse after the transplant, diverticulitis, a bout of COVID, and then a brutal C. difficile infection, which causes chronic diarrhea. He still has diarrhea, which makes it difficult for him to leave the house.
Heidi also knows a couple in her neighborhood where the husband died within four months after a lung transplant. Doctors have said Brad is “middle of the road” when it comes to survival and is doing well.
Lung transplantation exchanges one disease for another
Hope is tempered by caution and the realities of everyday life. “I think it’s a whole new world, but it’s not always a whole new, positive world. It’s different. It’s like you have new lungs and you can breathe. He’s alive. He’s breathing. I’m not sure how well he’ll do.”
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