Bryan’s Story

Site created on December 23, 2020


Some day when I get my hands on some medical records I'll do a better job on this story. Bryan asked us to start this site. He has a complicated history so here it goes.
A few years ago Bryan starting having difficulty swallowing. His esophagus was narrow and needed to be stretched over and over. If that wasn't concerning enough he also had shortness of breath.  He also lost A LOT of weight. If I remember right, they were doing a work-up to rule out cancer which might have caused both problems. Luckily, no cancer was found. Bryan continues to need his esophagus stretched but that seems to be an independent problem. Now back to his lungs. His breathing became such a problem that it affected his ability to work and function. He needed to retire early and then moved in with Donna (his mom) to be in a one level home.  In the meantime he went to various Doctors at North Memorial, Mayo and UMMC.  
At first they said COPD. Then it was a fungus or mucous. Then it was a bacterial infection. He was started on IV antibiotics at  home thru a PICC line.  Then he was started on a new med that needed to be delivered in person by someone that flew to Minnesota just to teach him how to prepare it and administer it. Turns out that caused more harm than good.  He was started on oxygen as needed and later needed it 24/7. By this time he was on the Lung Transplant list at the U.  The day before Thanksgiving he got the call that lungs were available. He got to the hospital and an error occurred that caused the surgery to be canceled.  It was shocking that lungs were ready for him and surgery time was set and more shocking when he was sent home with only an apology. As disappointing as this was, Bryan maintained his positive attitude. Now on Dec 22 he got the call again. In the AM of Dec 23 Bryan had his double Lung transplant. He is currently on a vent in ICU. 
His latest diagnosis is Bronchiolitis obliterans.  Not sure how he got this. He was never a smoker. It can be caused by chemicals or respiratory infections.  At one point there was concern he got it from work. 
It will be interesting to talk to the transplant team and hear what they learned from post-op assessment of his lungs. Since it took a couple years to get to that diagnosis, it would be interesting to know if that what was truly wrong.


Thank you to the Donor and Donor family for this miracle gift. Thank you to the transplant team at the U



Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.

Newest Update

Journal entry by JODI Hayden

Went to see Bryan and Donna this afternoon for Christmas. Bryan was discharged earlier this week. He has a picc line again and gives himself IV antibiotics. He had covid, dehydration, renal failure and an infection. He will still have thermal ablation for the site on his kidney (date unknown). If you ask me, Bryan is back to being Bryan. Harassing Michael, complaining about the Vikings and having colorful comments about politics. This is great news. Also, we are planning a trip in March. A couple years ago we started talking about it. The plan was Bryan would get on the transplant list, get his new lungs, recover and off we go to celebrate. Despite setbacks Bryan looked spunky today and hopefully we can try these lungs out with snorkeling in March 🌴
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