My New Life 10/23/1991

The rest of the story on that fateful night is:

My Air Ambulance arrived in Pittsburgh with a very worried Doctor onboard. The customs officials had taken so much of the precious time I needed to make my "transplant window", that we landed at the airport at the exact time I was supposed to be on the table -open - and ready for new lungs..
More delays  ....

I still hear the ambulance wail as we made our way to the hospital.

In the ER the Anesthesiologist and a Transplant Coordiantor were waiting for me.  I found out that the surgeons were "harvesting" the organs in another city. Yes, back then they used the term harvesting, I know it's different now. More politically correct, but this is my story and this is how it happened.
As I lay on the stretcher we chatted away about non-essential topics. We then went into telling jokes.
I spied the curtain moving, the Anesthesiologist changed facial expressions and looked down at me.
"Ready to go?"  Excitedly, "Is it a go?" "It's a go, they're on their way back" " Let's get this show on the road !"  "Well, you have to tell me the punch line before I can put you under ?"

And that is how I went into a life saving lung transplant.  Telling jokes..  If we cannot laugh through our troubles - we will cry hysterically until we destroy ourselves.

Many have been astonished that I did not ask for "Last Rites" just in case. Honestly, the thought never occured to  me. I'd had 18 months to  think, and get my life right with God. I felt this was all in His hands as he guided the surgeons, nurses and finally gave that torch to me. I thought and still do think, that I am in a win-win situation.. If I was allowed to live, I had more time with family, friends and making memories. If I did not live, I was going home, no more oxygen, struggling to breathe, fatigue, I would be whole again ! Who could argue with those odds?

The next thing I remember is waking up on October 25th.. and that is an adventure in itself...

Birthdays..How many do you have?

      Many of you may think this a strange question. As for me, not at all. As I sit here with an excruciatingly painful toothache I've pondered this question.
      On January 1st of this year a friend came by to celebrate her 50th birthday with us. I grilled chicken outside with shrimp scampi as an appetizer. And yes, we were able to grill outside on our one warm day before the unbelieveable cold hit Florida. As a joke I made a banner that read "Happy 21st Anniversary of your 29th Birthday". As we age we seem to try and forget the most important day of our lives. In fact it is really the only day that matters, for without it we would cease to exist.
     As for me, I celebrate 5 birthdays. Yes my biological birthday is very important, but so are my transplant birthdays of which there are 3, plus my donor Susie (the only one I know). Many prefer to call their transplant birthday their anniversary, which has little logic for me. After all wasn't I given the Gift of Life?
If not for those transplants I would not be alive writing this today. Those who've had an organ transplant, know the emotions that go hand in hand with being a recipient. This Gift of Life can turn the hardest person into emotional mush. I can say this with clarity, because I was afraid of nothing before my first transplant. If my car broke down on a dark road, I'd walk home (this was before cell phones). Now, no way would I do this  and so foolishly run the risk of my donor families hearing I took this chance with what I was given.
    I remember a newspaper article that ws done on me in 1991 post transplant. In this article I stated I intended to enjoy each and every wrinkle and grey hair I get. So far so good. I' getting them. I'm tolerating them. I'm not doing anything about them. I will age gracefully with all my scars, wrinkles and grey hair completely intact.
    Now that this is written I can decide which will be more excruciating. The toothache or the cost of the antibiotics to make it go away.. Either way I will feel the pain, believe me.

By the way... My friend dropped me a thank you card for her celebratory dinner. She thanked me for making her "29th Anniversary of her 21st Birthday" so much fun.. Guess she wanted to be younger still

Ain't it nifty???

I've actually hit fifty! The big 5-0, book em Dano.  Oh No  50!
Yep I made it. Not bad for a southern girl predicted to die before she was 20.
I'd always rationalized an early death to ease the burden on my parents. "If I die old, no one remembers but, if I die young -no one forgets". " Just think I'll never get wrinkles!"  Well, now I have to rethink my rationalizations.  I discovered that I'm proud of each and ever wrinkle. Each and every grey hair, well I've earned them all. To be honest I've probably caused and earned a few more than I show.
Turning 50 is usually a bench mark for most people. Many stress about "the over the hill" stigma.
HEY, I kinda like the idea that it's a slow downhill slalom from here... Collective word there---slow...
    I decided to do like the "normal" folks and take better care of myself starting today. Larry walked the boys, left early and I race walked to catch up. We did a good 2.5 miles and a few extra tenths for good measure. I've had the feeling I was eating to please my insulin injections, so I'm trying to take it a lunch time now instead of in the morning. I seem to have a bad habit of dropping around 11:30. I end up eating even though I'm not really hungry. it's been this way for a few weeks, so I'm doing a little experimenting. Please, don't do this yourself because I am. I've been able to control my blood sugar without insulin for almost 8 years, so this is an old habit of mine. The start of insulin has also produced a few pounds on the scale, which is driving me nuts. I'm not sure how to lose it while on insulin. I'm afraid that if I reduce my portion size it will cause another blood sugar drop. And these I hate. If you've ever had one you know why.
The cold sweat on the back of your neck, shaky hands, etc... Not a great feeling. Plus the shock of seeing you blood sugar readings only make it worse as you try to grab food and stuff it in yout mouth. Remembering to not spike your blood sugar because you'll feel worse trying to get it back in range.
 So, this morning instead of taking 15IU at 8:00AM, I'll take it later.
I ate my breakfast: pineapple, orange slices and a raisin bran muffin. I then set out on a brisk 2.5 mile walk, met up with Larry and my boys and continued on. After getting home I watered plants, (gotta keep those grape tomatoes going) then on to grocery shopping.
     I used to take NPH insulin around lunch time because it caused to drastic a drop in the mornings for me, so this is my game plan again.  At lunchtime 12noon my blood sugar was 100. I took 12IU of Levemir and went to lunch. I split a tuna sub with Larry so we'll see how it goes. 
   I also have an appointment with my endocrinologist next week so this is a good week to start my game plan. Probably a bad day as i have no idea what Larry, Debbie, & Larry (her Larry) have planed for tonight.

    More tomorrow on how my theory is working.


Have a great day, I am and will... Stay safe....
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE AS LONG AS WE ARE ALIVE AND ABLE TO BE WITH FRIENDWS AND FAMILY.

Surprises our spouses do.

I got a phone call at 7:30AM Wednesday morning from Eric of the Herald Tribune.
My wonderful husband called and told them my story and how I'd be celebrating a half century on Sunday.
We set up an interivew time of 10:00. OMG!!! I taught class Tuesday night , the house was a wreck, and I was just making breakfast.
I finished breakfast, did dishes,  swept and mopped floors, showered, and walked the boys. I was just walking from the back yard when he arrived at 10:00. Talk about a whirlwind.

This is one of the best weekends of my life. Friday I celebrate 18 years with the first lung transplant and Sunday I flash forward to the big 5-0..
Yes I'm damned proud of each and every grey hair and wrinkle. I've earned them many times over!

Below is the article from the Trib..

Have a great day






Ernst: One living reason to donate your organs




By Eric Ernst





Published: Friday, October 23, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:26 p.m.

When she was 18 and undergoing a Navy physical, Bette Luksha-Gammell got the shock of her life.



"You'll never have children, and I'm surprised you're still walking," a doctor said. He later told her parents she probably wouldn't live past 20.



Unknown to her, Gammell had pulmonary hypertension, and her lungs and parts of her heart were three times normal size.



Following that news, a gradual decline left Gammell hooked to an oxygen tank for too much of her days.



Eighteen years ago, doctors transplanted two lungs into Gammell and sewed up a hole in her heart. In 2000, after her body rejected those organs, she received a single lung transplant in 2002. Then, about four years ago, she received a transplanted kidney after hers was damaged by the medicines she took for her lungs.



She now lives in North Port with her husband, Larry. On Sunday, she'll celebrate her 50th birthday.



Gammell may have lived a life of struggle and pain, but she doesn't ask, "Why me?"



"Never question God," she says. "You might not like the answer."



Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Gammell adjusted her goals and went to work for Disney cruise lines and as a baggage handler (no kidding) for Continental Airlines.



"I'm one of those people, I have to be doing something. I can't sit at home and collect a check every month," she says. "I'd love to be back at work, but I know the risk I take."



Gammell settles for teaching a wire jewelry class at the Cultural Center of Charlotte County.



She's also an advocate and ambassador for organ transplants. At Disney, she started a support group called Second Chance. She records her daily struggles at www.survivinganorgantransplant.blogspot.com. She writes letters with suggestions for Medicare reform.



And she has traveled across the country to talk with potential recipients filled with doubts, fears and conflicting emotions.



At 9 p.m. Sundays, she watches a new CBS television series, "Three Rivers," which follows the lives of organ donors, recipients and surgeons at a fictitious hospital in Pittsburgh.



Gammell calls the show the first national platform for organ donations.



"It certainly starts a conversation," says Jennifer Krause, public affairs manager for LifeLink Foundation.



The foundation, which arranges organ donations from Tampa Bay through Fort Myers, reported 584 transplants in its coverage area last year. Another 437 donors provided tissue for such uses as bone grafts and heart valves.



Gammell sees donors as the real heroes. "I try to do something, each day, to honor donor families," she says. "At the most grief-filled time of their lives, they gave up someone they loved to give life to someone that someone else loves."



To recipients and donors, she offers, by her own example, a simple creed: "You have all these issues, but you have to stay positive. Being positive keeps you alive, whether you've had a transplant or you're healthy."



To become an organ donor, register online at www.donatelifeflorida.org.





Eric Ernst's column runs Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Contact him at eric.ernst@heraldtribune



.com or (941) 486-3073.