3 years, 25,228,800 Breaths. These are the gifts that Keith has been given.

3 years ago...

I was sitting in a waiting room at Toronto General Hospital, waiting for the word that the surgery was done, and that I could go and see Keith.  

12 days before transplant.  

11 days before transplant

That day was one of the most peaceful days of my life.  I had been in a whirlwind for weeks, living with uncertainty and fear, but doing my best to keep things together - for everyone, but most of all, for Keith.  We were in a no mans land, living each day wondering what the next would bring, not wanting to say what we feared, but knowing that it could happen any time.

His body was done.  His lungs were done.  The doctors were pushing for ECMO and I was saying NO.  His will was strong, he was so determined to keep going, that I wanted him to keep and use his own lungs as long as possible, until his hero came along.

Days before transplant.  His body was shot. 

Dr. Hsin writing "L" and "R" on his chest!
Just to be sure the lungs were in the right spot!

On the evening of January 28th, the call came in.  There might be lungs.

What followed, from about 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. was a quiet evening in the ICU room, with visits from time to time from nurses and doctors saying that they still didn't know if everything was a "go".  At 5 in the morning, everything was confirmed, and Keith was prepped for surgery.

7 1/2 hours later, Keith was out of surgery and by 7:00 that night I was holding his hand.

Seeing him breathe again, knowing what had happened, knowing that he had been gifted with the most precious of gifts ever, filled me with so much emotion that it still brings tears to my eyes as I write this.

 Happy 3rd Lungiversary my darling husband.  Here's to 25,228,800 more breaths, and more after that.  Each one is a blessing.

Thank you, donor.

You too can be a hero.  Visit beadonor.ca and register in Ontario.

Letter from Keith's donor's wife.  (who we
later met, along with the rest of his family)

Healthy, Happy, and loving life!

Written by Sarah Taylor 

Home at last! Settling back into new life

Saying goodbye to 7

February 20, 2013.

    

 After nearly 3 months as an inpatient, either at WestPark Healthcare Centre or at Toronto General Hospital, and 12 days on a ventilator prior to receiving his gift of life, Keith was finally allowed to go home!  It was so nice to be able to walk out of hospital, and into his home with NO walker!  Our first night home, Keith really wanted to have Il Fornello pizza, so we went out and had a lovely meal with my daughters, Emma and Kathleen.  

In home pharmacy!

CBC interview on Saturday morning.

Relaxed breakfast

 On Saturday morning, the CBC came to do an interview and finally get a chance to chat with Keith outside of the hospital.  Keith did an excellent job.  See the interview here (15 minutes in).  

Our new reality, for a few months, is 3-4 regular trips in to Toronto a week for physical rehab, doctors visits, testing and follow up appointments.  Keith is monitored very closely by his doctors, and does self monitoring every day through spirometry readings, temperature readings, and everything is charted.  If there are any noticeable (10%) up or downticks in anything, he is to go to the hospital immediately.  The medications that he takes to suppress his immune system, need to be taken at the same time each day, twice a day, for the rest of his life.  

First workout day after transplant

Treadmill.  1.8 as opposed to .6.  He rocked it.

Keith and Dr. Waddell?  Need to organize
a proper meeting :)

Running into Derek from Spiritual Care

Catching up with the team at Credit Valley
Physio Rehab

 It has been so wonderful to meet up with many of our friends, and people who have helped over the months and years.

Yep, another front page from our local paper.  

Vince - the Physio master in MSICU.
This man is awesome!!!

No post would ever be complete, without thanking the one incredible person who made this all possible.  You made a choice, your family supported that choice, and not one moment, not one breath goes by that is not filled with gratitude for your most precious gift.  Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.  I can only hope that your family can find solace in knowing that Keith will take amazing care of this gift.  

If you would like more information on how to ensure that you are registered in Ontario as an organ donor, please go to beadonor.ca.  Or visit Keith's Facebook Page  and check out the about section for more links in other provinces and countries.  

Two weeks post transplant. Ups and Downs.

The week in pictures (and lots of info)

Swallow xray video

To bring you up to date, I thought I would post an update with some of the things that have happened this past week.  Keith was assessed with a swallow test a week ago to see how he was swallowing (after having been  intubated for a week, and on a trach tube after that, it was imperative that he was swallowing food, and it was going down the right tube!  All looked pretty good, except for a few bits that weren't making it to the right spot, so he was put on "similar consistencies" for food choices.  No nuts for this guy for a while!

On Friday, February 8th, the skies opened up and covered the city with white.    It was beautiful to watch, but came at a time when Keith really needed me close.  Keith was 10 days post transplant, and really beginning to feel the pain of his incisions and staples.  Medications were still being adjusted, and gaps in pain meds really left him uncomfortable - no wait, in tons of pain.   My car was in pain too, as you can see, and THAT was lots of fun to deal with at the end of a long day.  (I can complain too, right?)  

On Friday evening, a nurse came up to Keith and I in the hallway and said "I've been reading your blog!"  to which Keith smiled in his new "I'm kind of a rock star now" way, and chatted with her. Her name was Roxanne, and she wanted to come by the following day with a couple of her students and change his chest dressings.  Bring it on.  What a great girl and she and two students (one from DeVry and one from Sheridan) took great care with Keith and got his dressings all cleaned up.  The nurses here are awesome.  

Sunday was an exciting day.  Keith said goodbye to his trach tube in the morning.  Dr. Leanne Singer did the honors, and later in the morning Keith's nurse Christine tidied up the trach site and covered it up with a bandage.  This was crucial because it was visiting day!  Keith was pretty excited when lunchtime came around, and we decided to head down to the food court and grab a corned beef sandwich from Druxy's.  HUGE joy on his face as he ate the first "non-hospital" food in weeks.  

Later on Sunday afternoon Keith finally had the opportunity to see his kids who he has not seen for over 4 weeks.  They were overjoyed to see him and have a lovely long chat in the atrium here.  Bobblehead Yoda and Darth Vader were gifts, along with some great handmade Get Well cards.  I know that it was wonderful for Keith to finally see his kids after all of this, and to give them all big hugs. 

They are so appreciative to have their Dad back, appreciative of the incredible gift that he has been given, and that they get to enjoy.  It is times like this that we truly remember the circumstances surrounding this gift.  The thanks extends beyond Keith, and I, it is a whole family and friend network who are thankful each and every moment for the gift that he has received.  

On Monday, Feb 11th, Keith experienced some issues with an elevated heart rate, reduced oxygen and was feeling feverish (although did not have a temperature).  The doctors did an x-ray and EKG and determined that it was possible he had an infection, which they are treating with a broad spectrum antibiotic.  By today he was feeling slightly better, although the pain of the incision site is still strong.  Medications manage this for the most part.  He was out for a 6 minute walk test today, and walked 325 metres.  I'd say he nailed it!


 Lungs for Keith to Breathe
The Facebook page continues to grow, and be a place where we can share the daily goings on for Keith.  While I try to post as often as I can, Keith's rehab is the priority right now and I cannot always post there.

What is amazing, is the number of people who have messaged me privately to ask how Keith is doing, and offer help.  Many of these people are students who have been touched by Keith's story, transplant patients both pre and post who remember how it was for them, and people who are moved by the importance of organ donation.  People who never thought about it before, but having heard Keith's and so many others stories, are moved to make a difference.
As we continue this journey, we will continue to ask everyone a favour - the next person you are talking with, whether it is the teacher at your child's school, your parent or relative, or a stranger you are helping on the street, - please remember that there are thousands of people waiting for organs in your province - your country.  Even a simple conversation about how you have been moved by this story and are trying to raise awareness about the importance of double checking beadonor.ca in Ontario to see if you are registered.  We CAN make a difference and raise the numbers of people registered.  If you tell one person each day, who tells one person, more people will have the conversation and we will continue to spread the word.
YOU CAN SAVE LIVES!

Greetings from ICU!

Everyone has been so wonderful over the past few days since Keith decided to scare the pants off us!

As a quick update, he is still in ICU at Toronto General, is still on the ventilator (but at the lowest possible setting) and is awake and "talking" through notes on paper. He's even been gently warned that some of his humour might not be appreciated by some of the nurses so he needs to tone it down!

We are keeping our fingers crossed that he will be removed from the machine today. Although he is getting used to it, he really wants to be able to breathe on his own again and get up and moving around again.

Please keep visualizing new lungs for Keith. It wont be long #forKeith2breathe. Please share the hashtag and encourage everyone you know to flip over that Ontario Health Card and look for the words "DONOR DONNEUR" on the back. If they are there - great! If not and you wish to be, go to http://www.beadonor.ca and register your wishes. You can and will save up to 8 lives.