Not much in the works today. Trying to get in 2 or more miles, some stairs, maybe a few hills if my knees don't start to bother me. The rest of the recovery is progressing nicely (my words) I am 70% lung functionality right now and hope to see steady improvement possibly moving to at least 75% by next Thursday.
That's all for now folks.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Copy of the orginal DFW news Article
In 2007, Jerrold Dash resolves to: Live to see 2008. Find a way for his family to be together. Promote organ donation and break the stereotypes associated with lung cancer.
By Mitch Mitchell
Source: Fort Worth Star-TelegramCredit: STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF
WRITERTuesday,January 9, 2007Edition: Tarrant, Section: News, Page A1
The Lockheed Martin Aeronautics systems engineer is 33 and approaching the first anniversary of his cancer being diagnosed. For the past six months he has lived in a Mountain View, Calif., apartment awaiting a double-lung transplant at Stanford University Medical Center. Dash’s wife of four years and his two young daughters live 1,600 miles away at the family’s south Fort Worth home.
"Cancer doctors are well-versed in what they do, but they don’t give you a lot of hope," Dash said in a telephone interview. "I’m not supposed to survive a year, and I’m definitely not going to be around after five, is what they told me."
Dash and his wife, Rhonda, were racing toward the good life when he began complaining of night sweats, sleepless nights, constant coughing and fatigue. Doctors suspected allergies, asthma, bronchitis, but none used advanced X-rays to screen for lung cancer, Dash said. He was working toward a third master’s degree when the cancer was diagnosed Feb. 1, four years after symptoms first appeared.
He is one of two patients in the United States with his diagnosis who have been approved by a transplant program, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing’s Web site.
Dash says the fact that he has never smoked and was athletic and health-conscious delayed his diagnosis.
He’ll never be able to pinpoint the cause, but he is convinced that secondhand smoke and pollution are two of the likely culprits. He pours out his anger at smokers on a blog that he began in September.
"I am not crazy, deranged, I am just mad as hell. I am mad when I fight for breath and I see smokers lighting up not caring where or in what direction their second-hand smoke goes. In California, there is no smoking in the restaurants, businesses, stores ... however, that does not stop smokers from lighting up right outside of the entrances to such establishments. It physically hurts me to have to walk through this stuff."
— Dash’s blog, Oct. 16
Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Baylor Medical Center at Southwest Fort Worth and Lockheed all went smoke-free this month. Arlington banned smoking in restaurants, some bars and many other public places as of New Year’s Day. Fort Worth city leaders have scheduled public hearings this month and next on further tobacco restrictions.
Dash, who worked for tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds for two years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, said even stronger measures are needed to protect nonsmokers from the byproducts of tobacco.
Against the odds
About 10 percent of people who have lung cancer have never smoked, according to David Weill, head of Stanford’s Lung Transplant Program. It is one of the few U.S. programs that transplants organs to cancer patients, Weill said.
"Usually, transplanting with cancer doesn’t work. The chance of getting cancer after the transplant is pretty high," Weill said.
And while the odds of Dash’s cancer returning after the transplant are about 50 percent, the chances are small that any recurrence would be fatal, Weill said.
"I think in life we have two great vices — fear and failure. ... I have over the last several months conquered my fear of death. No one lives forever. It is in knowing that I will one day die as an old man that I am able to live without fear and try to take advantage of every moment I have. Failure is not in my vocabulary. Athletes don’t fail." — Dash’s blog, Oct. 27
Tamara Crawford, a co-worker at Lockheed, said Dash informed her of his diagnosis about a year ago while he was being tested at a Fort Worth hospital.
"I said that doctors can get the diagnosis, but they don’t know the final outcome," said Crawford, an aeronautical engineer at Lockheed who had attended classes with Dash at Southern Methodist University. "Then I walked back to my car and cried."
A former fullback at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, the 5-11, 235-pound Dash has struggled to maintain his weight. He lifts weights nearly every day and says chemotherapy — rat poison, he calls it — makes him hungry, weak, sleepy and angry.
"I had to call the cops today at the hospital to get three die-hard smokers out of the no-smoking area so that cancer patients didn’t have to go through a cloud of smoke while trying to get into the cancer center," Dash wrote in an e-mail Dec. 28.
Dash communicates with his family daily by phone, e-mail or webcam. His wife, Rhonda; their 3-year-old, Raegan; and 1-year-old Ravyn huddle around the computer to share news of holidays and routine events. The trio last visited Dash in California on Thanksgiving.
Raegan "cries for him. She misses him," said Rhonda Dash, an environmental investigator with the state. "She always asks when we can go back out there for a visit."
Ravyn was only a few weeks old when her father received his diagnosis. For her, Dash is a man inside the box.
"She calls the telephone Dada," Jerrold Dash said.
Timing is crucial
Jerrold Dash hasn’t been to Fort Worth since September, when he attended the funeral of his mother-in-law, who died of lung cancer. If he leaves the Palo Alto area, his name will be removed from the transplant list. That policy is driven by the short shelf life of lungs — a mere six hours after being removed from a donor. Transplant recipients must not venture more than four hours from the hospital because of the time needed for a pre-surgery work-up.
Dash completes his assignments related to the Lightning II project by telecommuting from one of Lockheed’s California offices.
He is working on a third master’s degree — this one in systems engineering, having earned graduate degrees in organizational management and computer information systems. He completes course work at Southern Methodist University by watching DVDs of his classes. His classmates graduated in December, but he is one class and one paper short of fulfilling his degree requirements.
Yet some things, he knows, are more important.
"From the time I graduated from college up to now, I did everything I could to benefit my career; a career I do not feel I will ever get back on track again. However, I am not sad to see my career take a backseat. You have to find a balance in life and prioritize the major things in your life. The things that are important to me are being able to wake-up and see another day, my GOD, and my friends and family."
— Dash’s blog, Jan. 2
SECONDHAND SMOKE
Secondhand smoke causes 35,000 to 45,000 deaths from heart disease every year. An additional 3,000 otherwise healthy nonsmokers die of lung cancer each year because of their exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the American Cancer Society.
The Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, a substance that is known to cause human cancer.
Find information online about lung cancer and secondhand smoke at Medline Plus at medlineplus.gov or at the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp
ORGAN DONATION
As of Dec. 29, more than 94,600 people were on a transplant waiting list; more than 22,000 received transplants in 2006, and nearly 11,200 donated organs.
To ensure that your decision to become a donor is carried out, sign up at www.texasdear.org.
Indicate your wishes on your driver’s license or state ID when you apply for or renew it. Tell relatives that you have decided to become a donor.
Find information online at Donate Life America at www.donatelife.net, the United Network for Organ Sharing at www.unos.org or LifeGift at www.lifegift.org.
Contact Jerrold Dash through his blog at 2newlungs.blogspot.com.
SOURCES: American Cancer Society, Donate Life America, United Network for Organ Sharing
IF YOU GO
The public is invited to comment on recommended changes to Fort Worth’s smoking ordinance during 7 p.m. meetings hosted by the city:
Jan. 16: R.D. Evans Community Center, 3242 Lackland Road
Jan. 22: Handley Meadowbrook Community Center, 6201 Beaty St.
Feb. 1: Southwest Community Center, 6300 Welch Ave.
Feb. 12: North Fort Worth Baptist Church, 5801 N. Interstate 35W
Mitch Mitchell, 817-548-5411 mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com
By Mitch Mitchell
Source: Fort Worth Star-TelegramCredit: STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF
WRITERTuesday,January 9, 2007Edition: Tarrant, Section: News, Page A1
The Lockheed Martin Aeronautics systems engineer is 33 and approaching the first anniversary of his cancer being diagnosed. For the past six months he has lived in a Mountain View, Calif., apartment awaiting a double-lung transplant at Stanford University Medical Center. Dash’s wife of four years and his two young daughters live 1,600 miles away at the family’s south Fort Worth home.
"Cancer doctors are well-versed in what they do, but they don’t give you a lot of hope," Dash said in a telephone interview. "I’m not supposed to survive a year, and I’m definitely not going to be around after five, is what they told me."
Dash and his wife, Rhonda, were racing toward the good life when he began complaining of night sweats, sleepless nights, constant coughing and fatigue. Doctors suspected allergies, asthma, bronchitis, but none used advanced X-rays to screen for lung cancer, Dash said. He was working toward a third master’s degree when the cancer was diagnosed Feb. 1, four years after symptoms first appeared.
He is one of two patients in the United States with his diagnosis who have been approved by a transplant program, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing’s Web site.
Dash says the fact that he has never smoked and was athletic and health-conscious delayed his diagnosis.
He’ll never be able to pinpoint the cause, but he is convinced that secondhand smoke and pollution are two of the likely culprits. He pours out his anger at smokers on a blog that he began in September.
"I am not crazy, deranged, I am just mad as hell. I am mad when I fight for breath and I see smokers lighting up not caring where or in what direction their second-hand smoke goes. In California, there is no smoking in the restaurants, businesses, stores ... however, that does not stop smokers from lighting up right outside of the entrances to such establishments. It physically hurts me to have to walk through this stuff."
— Dash’s blog, Oct. 16
Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Baylor Medical Center at Southwest Fort Worth and Lockheed all went smoke-free this month. Arlington banned smoking in restaurants, some bars and many other public places as of New Year’s Day. Fort Worth city leaders have scheduled public hearings this month and next on further tobacco restrictions.
Dash, who worked for tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds for two years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, said even stronger measures are needed to protect nonsmokers from the byproducts of tobacco.
Against the odds
About 10 percent of people who have lung cancer have never smoked, according to David Weill, head of Stanford’s Lung Transplant Program. It is one of the few U.S. programs that transplants organs to cancer patients, Weill said.
"Usually, transplanting with cancer doesn’t work. The chance of getting cancer after the transplant is pretty high," Weill said.
And while the odds of Dash’s cancer returning after the transplant are about 50 percent, the chances are small that any recurrence would be fatal, Weill said.
"I think in life we have two great vices — fear and failure. ... I have over the last several months conquered my fear of death. No one lives forever. It is in knowing that I will one day die as an old man that I am able to live without fear and try to take advantage of every moment I have. Failure is not in my vocabulary. Athletes don’t fail." — Dash’s blog, Oct. 27
Tamara Crawford, a co-worker at Lockheed, said Dash informed her of his diagnosis about a year ago while he was being tested at a Fort Worth hospital.
"I said that doctors can get the diagnosis, but they don’t know the final outcome," said Crawford, an aeronautical engineer at Lockheed who had attended classes with Dash at Southern Methodist University. "Then I walked back to my car and cried."
A former fullback at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, the 5-11, 235-pound Dash has struggled to maintain his weight. He lifts weights nearly every day and says chemotherapy — rat poison, he calls it — makes him hungry, weak, sleepy and angry.
"I had to call the cops today at the hospital to get three die-hard smokers out of the no-smoking area so that cancer patients didn’t have to go through a cloud of smoke while trying to get into the cancer center," Dash wrote in an e-mail Dec. 28.
Dash communicates with his family daily by phone, e-mail or webcam. His wife, Rhonda; their 3-year-old, Raegan; and 1-year-old Ravyn huddle around the computer to share news of holidays and routine events. The trio last visited Dash in California on Thanksgiving.
Raegan "cries for him. She misses him," said Rhonda Dash, an environmental investigator with the state. "She always asks when we can go back out there for a visit."
Ravyn was only a few weeks old when her father received his diagnosis. For her, Dash is a man inside the box.
"She calls the telephone Dada," Jerrold Dash said.
Timing is crucial
Jerrold Dash hasn’t been to Fort Worth since September, when he attended the funeral of his mother-in-law, who died of lung cancer. If he leaves the Palo Alto area, his name will be removed from the transplant list. That policy is driven by the short shelf life of lungs — a mere six hours after being removed from a donor. Transplant recipients must not venture more than four hours from the hospital because of the time needed for a pre-surgery work-up.
Dash completes his assignments related to the Lightning II project by telecommuting from one of Lockheed’s California offices.
He is working on a third master’s degree — this one in systems engineering, having earned graduate degrees in organizational management and computer information systems. He completes course work at Southern Methodist University by watching DVDs of his classes. His classmates graduated in December, but he is one class and one paper short of fulfilling his degree requirements.
Yet some things, he knows, are more important.
"From the time I graduated from college up to now, I did everything I could to benefit my career; a career I do not feel I will ever get back on track again. However, I am not sad to see my career take a backseat. You have to find a balance in life and prioritize the major things in your life. The things that are important to me are being able to wake-up and see another day, my GOD, and my friends and family."
— Dash’s blog, Jan. 2
SECONDHAND SMOKE
Secondhand smoke causes 35,000 to 45,000 deaths from heart disease every year. An additional 3,000 otherwise healthy nonsmokers die of lung cancer each year because of their exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the American Cancer Society.
The Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, a substance that is known to cause human cancer.
Find information online about lung cancer and secondhand smoke at Medline Plus at medlineplus.gov or at the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp
ORGAN DONATION
As of Dec. 29, more than 94,600 people were on a transplant waiting list; more than 22,000 received transplants in 2006, and nearly 11,200 donated organs.
To ensure that your decision to become a donor is carried out, sign up at www.texasdear.org.
Indicate your wishes on your driver’s license or state ID when you apply for or renew it. Tell relatives that you have decided to become a donor.
Find information online at Donate Life America at www.donatelife.net, the United Network for Organ Sharing at www.unos.org or LifeGift at www.lifegift.org.
Contact Jerrold Dash through his blog at 2newlungs.blogspot.com.
SOURCES: American Cancer Society, Donate Life America, United Network for Organ Sharing
IF YOU GO
The public is invited to comment on recommended changes to Fort Worth’s smoking ordinance during 7 p.m. meetings hosted by the city:
Jan. 16: R.D. Evans Community Center, 3242 Lackland Road
Jan. 22: Handley Meadowbrook Community Center, 6201 Beaty St.
Feb. 1: Southwest Community Center, 6300 Welch Ave.
Feb. 12: North Fort Worth Baptist Church, 5801 N. Interstate 35W
Mitch Mitchell, 817-548-5411 mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Walking Increase
I picked up the pace and got just over a mile and a half in today; along with a healthy dose of stadium stairs.
I think my weight is stabalizing (I lost 34 pounds in 3weeks)
I think my weight is stabalizing (I lost 34 pounds in 3weeks)
Jerroldism: lessons learned so far.........
This whole ordeal has taught me a lot:
I have hopefully learned through all this more patients, and also every setback is not really a setback at all it is a setup for better things to come and just allows you the opportunity to grow the tools you need to get to where you need to be in life, love, and FAITH.
I have hopefully learned through all this more patients, and also every setback is not really a setback at all it is a setup for better things to come and just allows you the opportunity to grow the tools you need to get to where you need to be in life, love, and FAITH.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Health News
The initial pathology report is that all the junk (cancer.... BAC) was contained within my poor ol' lungs. This is good news as they have not noticed or noted any nodular activity. In short I am cancer free and hoping some good data will be gathered from the pending research that will take place on the ol' windbags.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Longest Mile
Sunday got out walked a mile around the Stanford track. The walk took a little longer than I thought but I made it through. It took a grand total of 23 minutes in lane nine so in the first lane I probably would have shaved 3 minutes off my time. I think I may try two miles this weekend when the weather warms up.
Pictures after the mile and while I was doing the stadium stairs.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
News Article by the Star-Telegram
http://www.star-telegram.com/226/story/46789.html
Posted on Sat, Mar. 24, 2007
Man recovering after lung transplant
By MITCH MITCHELL
For nearly seven months, Jerrold Dash breathed uneasily as he awaited two new lungs from an organ donor.
A Fort Worth resident and nonsmoker, Dash tried not to worry about whether his lung cancer was spreading and whether he could die. While awaiting surgery in California, he relieved his anxiety by working out regularly, chatting with loved ones and chronicling his experiences on a blog -- always remaining hopeful.
This month, Dash, 33, got bittersweet news. A 30-year-old organ donor had died and his lungs were a match. Dash's wife, Rhonda Dash, arrived in Palo Alto just 2 1/2 hours before his March 6 surgery, which lasted seven hours.
"I got to the hospital just in time to talk to him and pray together," Rhonda Dash said.
Dash was released from the hospital March 15. He anticipates returning to Fort Worth by late June or early July. He had been living in California for almost a year awaiting the transplant while his wife and two young daughters stayed in Fort Worth.
As soon as Jerrold Dash can find the words, he said, he will thank the donor family in a letter he will give to a social worker at Stanford University Medical Center. Medical personnel are not allowed to reveal donor information.
All indications are that Dash's lung cancer did not spread and that his new lungs are functioning better than expected, he said.
He remains determined to help fight cancer in any way he can -- including speaking at schools and churches. The Lockheed Martin Aeronautics systems engineer donated his old lungs for research.
"In April, I will get to have a private moment with them before they slice and dice them," Dash said.
For the next few weeks, Dash must wear a mask that will help prevent infections. For the rest of his life, Dash must watch for signs of infection or tissue rejection. But the longer he remains clear of infections and the longer his body does not reject the donated organs, the better his chances are for a long and healthy life, his wife said.
Dash was one of two people with his diagnosis on the transplant waiting list in late December. Transplants for people with lung cancer are rare because of the chances of the disease spreading, said Dr. David Weill, head of Stanford's lung transplant program.
"I'm cancer-free now," Dash said. "I can do anything that I want to do."
He isn't strong enough to work out yet. Before the surgery, the exercise fanatic lifted weights at the YMCA; he used to be a fullback at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.
"Jerrold was out of the hospital in a remarkable amount of time," said Allyson Rupp, a clinical social worker at the hospital where Dash had the surgery. "He is extremely well-built physically, and he has such an outstanding attitude. He doesn't complain about anything, and he worries about everyone else around him."
At the Dash family's church, East St. Paul Baptist Church in Fort Worth, March 11 was Jerrold Dash Day. The Rev. L.S. Wilson, senior pastor, said congregants collected an offering to help offset the Dashes' medical and related expenses. Wilson said he also encouraged others to become organ donors, because "there are a lot of other families like the Dashes out there."
Speaking out in favor of organ donation is a New Year's resolution that Dash said he is determined to keep.
"This is an opportunity to effect change in myself and others," Dash said. "This game, this cancer game has gone on for far too long. If they don't hear me one way, they will hear me another way. The lung cancer statistics are grim and negative, but I would caution anyone to bet against me. You'll lose every time."
In the Know
Posted on Sat, Mar. 24, 2007
Man recovering after lung transplant
By MITCH MITCHELL
For nearly seven months, Jerrold Dash breathed uneasily as he awaited two new lungs from an organ donor.
A Fort Worth resident and nonsmoker, Dash tried not to worry about whether his lung cancer was spreading and whether he could die. While awaiting surgery in California, he relieved his anxiety by working out regularly, chatting with loved ones and chronicling his experiences on a blog -- always remaining hopeful.
This month, Dash, 33, got bittersweet news. A 30-year-old organ donor had died and his lungs were a match. Dash's wife, Rhonda Dash, arrived in Palo Alto just 2 1/2 hours before his March 6 surgery, which lasted seven hours.
"I got to the hospital just in time to talk to him and pray together," Rhonda Dash said.
Dash was released from the hospital March 15. He anticipates returning to Fort Worth by late June or early July. He had been living in California for almost a year awaiting the transplant while his wife and two young daughters stayed in Fort Worth.
As soon as Jerrold Dash can find the words, he said, he will thank the donor family in a letter he will give to a social worker at Stanford University Medical Center. Medical personnel are not allowed to reveal donor information.
All indications are that Dash's lung cancer did not spread and that his new lungs are functioning better than expected, he said.
He remains determined to help fight cancer in any way he can -- including speaking at schools and churches. The Lockheed Martin Aeronautics systems engineer donated his old lungs for research.
"In April, I will get to have a private moment with them before they slice and dice them," Dash said.
For the next few weeks, Dash must wear a mask that will help prevent infections. For the rest of his life, Dash must watch for signs of infection or tissue rejection. But the longer he remains clear of infections and the longer his body does not reject the donated organs, the better his chances are for a long and healthy life, his wife said.
Dash was one of two people with his diagnosis on the transplant waiting list in late December. Transplants for people with lung cancer are rare because of the chances of the disease spreading, said Dr. David Weill, head of Stanford's lung transplant program.
"I'm cancer-free now," Dash said. "I can do anything that I want to do."
He isn't strong enough to work out yet. Before the surgery, the exercise fanatic lifted weights at the YMCA; he used to be a fullback at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.
"Jerrold was out of the hospital in a remarkable amount of time," said Allyson Rupp, a clinical social worker at the hospital where Dash had the surgery. "He is extremely well-built physically, and he has such an outstanding attitude. He doesn't complain about anything, and he worries about everyone else around him."
At the Dash family's church, East St. Paul Baptist Church in Fort Worth, March 11 was Jerrold Dash Day. The Rev. L.S. Wilson, senior pastor, said congregants collected an offering to help offset the Dashes' medical and related expenses. Wilson said he also encouraged others to become organ donors, because "there are a lot of other families like the Dashes out there."
Speaking out in favor of organ donation is a New Year's resolution that Dash said he is determined to keep.
"This is an opportunity to effect change in myself and others," Dash said. "This game, this cancer game has gone on for far too long. If they don't hear me one way, they will hear me another way. The lung cancer statistics are grim and negative, but I would caution anyone to bet against me. You'll lose every time."
In the Know
Transplant timeline
- March 5: Dash receives call that donor lungs are available
- March 6: Receives double lung transplant in a seven-hour operation
- March 7: Moves to intermediate intensive care unit
- March 8: Sits up to eat for the first time since surgery
- March 9: Exercises for the first time since surgery (walks around nurses' station)
- March 11: Experiences a defibrillation attack (increased heart rate associated with transplant, typical in about a third of transplant recipients, according to his doctor)
- March 13: Receives keys to new apartment near Stanford University Medical Center and has another minor atrial defibrillation attack
- March 15: Discharged from hospital
Contact Jerrold Dash through his blog at 2newlungs.blogspot.com
Organ donation
Find information about organ donation at Donate Life America, www.donatelife.net; United Network for Organ Sharing at www.unos.org; or LifeGift at www.lifegift.org.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
News Article: by Pegasus News wire
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/mar/24/fort-worth-man-gets-lung-transplant/
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Fort Worth man gets lung transplant
By Pegasus News wire
Jarrold Dash, 33, of Fort Worth had been waiting for seven months for a lung transplant. Earlier this month, he finally got the call that there was a match.
As reported by S-T Dash had lung cancer, though he was not a smoker, and while he was waiting there was always the possibility that the cancer could spread. For nearly the past year, he has been living in California, awaiting a lung donor, while his wife and children were staying in their Fort Worth home. On March 6 he received his surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, which went better than expected, and will be able to return to Fort Worth by June or July.
Transplants are extremely rare for people with lung cancer because of the high risk of the disease spreading. According to MedlinePlus "Fighting rejection is an ongoing process. The body's immune system considers the transplanted organ as an invader (much like an infection) and may attack it. To prevent rejection, organ transplant patients must take anti-rejection (immunosuppression) drugs (such as cyclosporine and corticosteroids) that suppress the body's immune response and reduce the chance of rejection." But with careful monitoring and the anti-rejection drugs, Dash is expected to live a long, healthy life.
Posted by Erin
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Fort Worth man gets lung transplant
By Pegasus News wire
Jarrold Dash, 33, of Fort Worth had been waiting for seven months for a lung transplant. Earlier this month, he finally got the call that there was a match.
As reported by S-T Dash had lung cancer, though he was not a smoker, and while he was waiting there was always the possibility that the cancer could spread. For nearly the past year, he has been living in California, awaiting a lung donor, while his wife and children were staying in their Fort Worth home. On March 6 he received his surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, which went better than expected, and will be able to return to Fort Worth by June or July.
Transplants are extremely rare for people with lung cancer because of the high risk of the disease spreading. According to MedlinePlus "Fighting rejection is an ongoing process. The body's immune system considers the transplanted organ as an invader (much like an infection) and may attack it. To prevent rejection, organ transplant patients must take anti-rejection (immunosuppression) drugs (such as cyclosporine and corticosteroids) that suppress the body's immune response and reduce the chance of rejection." But with careful monitoring and the anti-rejection drugs, Dash is expected to live a long, healthy life.
Posted by Erin
Friday, March 23, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Still on the road to recovery
Still recovering every day is a blessing and gets a little easier. I am being advised to take things slow as far as my recovery goes. I have my second outpatient clinic visit on Thursday so I hope all is still progressing according to the doctors plan (I think personally that I am doing great but lets take things one day at a time).
Leaving the Hospital
Pictures of me leaving the hospital and the mask I must now wear at least for the first year.
Additional Time line information
Some additional time line information that I was too drugged up to remember.
- March 5, 2007 Received Call (PM)
- March 6 Transplanted with 2 lungs (1:30 A – 8:30 A)
- march 7 moved to intermediate ICU, rm 341D
- march 8 sit up to eat (PM)
- march 9 walked around nurses’ station
- march 10 mother and godmother went back home
- march 11 atrial defibrillation attack (increased heart rate associated with transplant)
- march 12 blood sample, sputum sample, & urine sample to
identify why 102.4 F. fever
received medication list for self medication
Received Plant #2 from Lockheed’s Executives - March 13 received keys to h.o.m.e apts near Standford hospital another atrial defibrillation attack
- march 15 took 1st shower since transplant discharged from hospital to h.om.e apts (pm)
I'm a walking
I am walking. These pictures were taken pre-chest tube removal so you can see I had a lot of medical stuff and stuff to haul around with me.
Ugly hospital pictures
Some of the shoots of me with all types of bells, whistles and tubes going place I dare not mention :-)
The first picture (bottom Left) shows me sitting up in the bed having a breathing treatment.
The middle picture shows how sleepy you get with all the medicine along with a strong desire to catch a cat nap b/c there is no real sleeping in the hospital
The last picture (bottom right) shows my last chest tube as it is being pulled out. They asked if that hurt I responded by telling them that it was a unique once in a life time experience and come here let me bite your nose and see how that feels :-). You can also see the clam shell incision that was used to take out the bad lungs and place the new upgraded lung into my chest. Pray for my donors family and loved ones.
The first picture (bottom Left) shows me sitting up in the bed having a breathing treatment.
The middle picture shows how sleepy you get with all the medicine along with a strong desire to catch a cat nap b/c there is no real sleeping in the hospital
The last picture (bottom right) shows my last chest tube as it is being pulled out. They asked if that hurt I responded by telling them that it was a unique once in a life time experience and come here let me bite your nose and see how that feels :-). You can also see the clam shell incision that was used to take out the bad lungs and place the new upgraded lung into my chest. Pray for my donors family and loved ones.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Congratulations (brother brother #21 Winter '07 DAD Inc.)
Congratulations I would like to congratulate my little brother and sis-in-Law on the birth one week ago on the birth on their lovely little daughter.
Little guy now you will know what it is like to leave the house on a tool tun full on testosterone and get to the Mega department store only to go to the infant girls section buying stuff for your princess and end up buying a cheap tool at the dollar store. Welcome Brother Brother #21 Spring '07 we have been waiting for you to join our ranks. :-)
DAD Inc. - dad of a daughter
Learn these by heart
Hello Kitty
Dora The Explorer
Little Einsteins
Back Yard Agains
Barbie
My Little Pony
The Proud Family
Barney
..........
..........
..........
Little guy now you will know what it is like to leave the house on a tool tun full on testosterone and get to the Mega department store only to go to the infant girls section buying stuff for your princess and end up buying a cheap tool at the dollar store. Welcome Brother Brother #21 Spring '07 we have been waiting for you to join our ranks. :-)
DAD Inc. - dad of a daughter
Learn these by heart
Hello Kitty
Dora The Explorer
Little Einsteins
Back Yard Agains
Barbie
My Little Pony
The Proud Family
Barney
..........
..........
..........
Jerrold update (Post Transplant) and out of the Hospital
This will be a rather long catch up blog as I have for one reason or another not been able to reach my fans since March 09, 2007. This blog will attempt to bridge the time gap from March 10, 2007 up to March 17, 2007.
Let’s begin shall we
(Disclaimer this is from my memory alone that has been on heavy heavy drugs for almost two and a half weeks now--- end of Jerrold Disclaimer)
March 10, 2007
Not much happened on this day as it was a Saturday just more pain as I recover. My Mother and God Mother prepare to leave the hospital turning over my recovery support duties to my wife. I still have 4 chest tubes in me and other IV lines running all over the place along with heart monitors…..
Some walking today, it is hard to get used to the large respitory device I must wear to filter impurities from getting in my lungs.
March 11, 2007
My worst fear was reached today; I was floating along in my recover too easily. About 4AM in the morning as my vitals were being taken and I was filling up yet another urine container I suddenly felt very uneasy on my feat; I began shaking, sweating, got hot / cold, short of breath, and my heart rate jumped from 90 something to 180 to 200 in a matter of seconds. I had basically gone into Afib http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/heart_disorders/atrial_fibrillation/default.asp
Atrial Fibrillation (also called AF or A Fib) is a common heart rhythm disorder caused by a problem in the conduction of electrical impulses in the upper chambers, or atria, of the heart.
This little incident had a major impact on me. It let me know that I have a long bumpy recovery road ahead of me. I was frightened out of my mind during the whole process as I was out of control of what was happening with me. All I could do was just lay there and let the nurses pack me in warm blankets to control the shivering, calm me down, and try to stabilize me until my heart rate reduction plan had been blessed off by the doctors. Eventually my heart rate was medically controlled but I was nervous, anxious, and darn scared for the rest of the day and did not want to be left alone.
Some walking today.
March 12, 2007
Routine day filled with lots of doctors visiting my room since the Afib incident got their attention too. We continue on the meds to slow the heart rate. All in all it was a good day. Walked very little today.
March 13, 2007
Routine slight temperature spike during the night; but it was nothing major. The doctors removed on pair of chest tubes today, which would allow me to have less things hanging and become slightly more mobile. (Side note on the pain involved: the chest tubes hurt like the dickens coming out it felt like someone was trying to saw out of my body from the inside out as the cords were being pulled through and finally out). More lap walking on my floor.
March 14, 2007
Slight Afib episode again but it was quickly controlled. I continued to have temperature spike that baffle the doctors so they get rid of all IV lines and check the access point tips in the lab for bacteria (none found). My mediport is accessed for all IV drugs I need. I addition to my walking the physical therapist brought in a stationary bike so I can have more diversity in my exercise.
March 15, 2007
Normal day; I got my last set of chest tubes out today. These sets of tube were far less painful to remove than the first. Now I am mobile I just have my IV pole to go where I go now. I am 10 pounds lighter this morning also I was given such a heavy dose of lasiks that I urinated away 10 pounds overnight. More walking ….
No temperature spikes in the last 24 hours; so the executive decision was made to release to go to the hospital HOME apartment possibly for 3months or until I am medically cleared to return to Texas. More walking and I am excited about popping this fruit stand (Free at last, Free at last, Thank GOD all mighty we are Free at last) by-MLKing Jr.
Took along walk in the evening just the wife and I. It was tough as I am still adjusting to the mask (note on the mask: the mask would be like your worst day of track practice and you have to run continuous sprints with a bandana covering you nose and another covering your mouth.)
March 16, 2007
Freedom (the first full one)
Got up at and got all my meds together, then the wife and I were out the door.running errarands (cable office, post office grocery store)
March 17, 2007
Up early in the AM working on the blog; could not sleep. Will probably run errands today and walk outside (masking tow / on the face) today.
on Sunday March 18, 2007 I was supposed to do the 12k race in San Francisco
http://www.rhodyco.com/07enab.html
Let’s begin shall we
(Disclaimer this is from my memory alone that has been on heavy heavy drugs for almost two and a half weeks now--- end of Jerrold Disclaimer)
March 10, 2007
Not much happened on this day as it was a Saturday just more pain as I recover. My Mother and God Mother prepare to leave the hospital turning over my recovery support duties to my wife. I still have 4 chest tubes in me and other IV lines running all over the place along with heart monitors…..
Some walking today, it is hard to get used to the large respitory device I must wear to filter impurities from getting in my lungs.
March 11, 2007
My worst fear was reached today; I was floating along in my recover too easily. About 4AM in the morning as my vitals were being taken and I was filling up yet another urine container I suddenly felt very uneasy on my feat; I began shaking, sweating, got hot / cold, short of breath, and my heart rate jumped from 90 something to 180 to 200 in a matter of seconds. I had basically gone into Afib http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/heart_disorders/atrial_fibrillation/default.asp
Atrial Fibrillation (also called AF or A Fib) is a common heart rhythm disorder caused by a problem in the conduction of electrical impulses in the upper chambers, or atria, of the heart.
This little incident had a major impact on me. It let me know that I have a long bumpy recovery road ahead of me. I was frightened out of my mind during the whole process as I was out of control of what was happening with me. All I could do was just lay there and let the nurses pack me in warm blankets to control the shivering, calm me down, and try to stabilize me until my heart rate reduction plan had been blessed off by the doctors. Eventually my heart rate was medically controlled but I was nervous, anxious, and darn scared for the rest of the day and did not want to be left alone.
Some walking today.
March 12, 2007
Routine day filled with lots of doctors visiting my room since the Afib incident got their attention too. We continue on the meds to slow the heart rate. All in all it was a good day. Walked very little today.
March 13, 2007
Routine slight temperature spike during the night; but it was nothing major. The doctors removed on pair of chest tubes today, which would allow me to have less things hanging and become slightly more mobile. (Side note on the pain involved: the chest tubes hurt like the dickens coming out it felt like someone was trying to saw out of my body from the inside out as the cords were being pulled through and finally out). More lap walking on my floor.
March 14, 2007
Slight Afib episode again but it was quickly controlled. I continued to have temperature spike that baffle the doctors so they get rid of all IV lines and check the access point tips in the lab for bacteria (none found). My mediport is accessed for all IV drugs I need. I addition to my walking the physical therapist brought in a stationary bike so I can have more diversity in my exercise.
March 15, 2007
Normal day; I got my last set of chest tubes out today. These sets of tube were far less painful to remove than the first. Now I am mobile I just have my IV pole to go where I go now. I am 10 pounds lighter this morning also I was given such a heavy dose of lasiks that I urinated away 10 pounds overnight. More walking ….
No temperature spikes in the last 24 hours; so the executive decision was made to release to go to the hospital HOME apartment possibly for 3months or until I am medically cleared to return to Texas. More walking and I am excited about popping this fruit stand (Free at last, Free at last, Thank GOD all mighty we are Free at last) by-MLKing Jr.
Took along walk in the evening just the wife and I. It was tough as I am still adjusting to the mask (note on the mask: the mask would be like your worst day of track practice and you have to run continuous sprints with a bandana covering you nose and another covering your mouth.)
March 16, 2007
Freedom (the first full one)
Got up at and got all my meds together, then the wife and I were out the door.running errarands (cable office, post office grocery store)
March 17, 2007
Up early in the AM working on the blog; could not sleep. Will probably run errands today and walk outside (masking tow / on the face) today.
on Sunday March 18, 2007 I was supposed to do the 12k race in San Francisco
http://www.rhodyco.com/07enab.html
Friday, March 09, 2007
Recovery hurts
Howdy this is Jerrold recovery hurts, I am taking baby steps right now. Thanks for all the prayers and calls.
Jerrold
Jerrold
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Lung Transplant update
Hi there- This is not Jerrold typing, but someone who promised to update the blog on his behalf. After his bilateral lung transplant, Jerrold is doing great! His road to recovery has begun-- this morning's chores consist of sitting up in a chair, and working on frequent lung exercises. He's extubated (off the ventilator) and obeying all orders, with no complaints! He'll be back online as soon as he can bribe a nurse or two to let him at the computer! In the meantime, comments can likely be printed out and brought to him for his review...
Monday, March 05, 2007
Still waiting for the procedure
Ready to go under the knife; but couldn't resist getting on the computer :-)
The procedure will start at midnite, I am hungry and thirsty.
out now.
The procedure will start at midnite, I am hungry and thirsty.
out now.
Got the call for TRANSPLANT just now
hey came over to the hospital to get some dinner and I might get a side of lungs. My pager just went off and it was the transplant surgeons so I am checking in. See you all on the other side, I am not nervous. So here goes.
Take a risk
Jerrold
Take a risk
Jerrold
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
