Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. As most of you know, Sherry has been using oxygen full-time and several other medications have been keeping her alive for the past 2-2.5 years while she awaits new lungs on the transplant list at the University of Minnesota Hospital.
On January 5, 2019, Sherry received a phone call from the transplant team that would change her life forever. NEW LUNGS! Something she had been hoping and praying for for a long time. Here is her story and her progress...
Sherry was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2015 after noticing some slow-developing symptoms getting worse. She was experiencing shortness of breath, Raynaud's Syndrome (where her fingers turn dark purple) after light exercise like walking, unexplained weight loss, and persistent coughing up phlegm every morning. These were all VERY slow-progressing symptoms that started after getting sick (pneumonia-like symptoms, illness called BOOP) in ~2007. Sherry has been battling Pulmonary Fibrosis, Pulmonary Hypertension, Antisynthetase Syndrome, and a long list of other autoimmune diseases. Basically, her case is extremely rare and very complicated, all stemming from her immune system attacking her lungs.
Pulmonary fibrosis is a terminal/progressive illness, and in Sherry's case, it has taken years to get to the point of being assessed for the last resort option - a lung transplant. In the summer of 2016, she was put on oxygen full-time, as well as a Flolan pump (she calls "Flo") which is a 24/7 drug administered into a port in her chest that helps to treat her pulmonary hypertension, keeping her heart pumping stronger as her lungs require more work to keep them oxygenated from all the scar tissue build-up and lesions.
Since 2016, Sherry's need for oxygen and doses of her medications (Flolan & other pills to slow down the progression) have needed to be increased, while managing the side-effects. During the progression of the disease, her health and quality of life have declined more in the past few months, but the specialists at the University of Minnesota have been closely monitoring her. She has been on the transplant list officially since August of 2018, and although the wait has been a trying time, we are so incredibly grateful she finally received a shot at a longer and better quality of life.
--------------------The Surgery------------------
On Sunday, January 6, 2019 at approximately 2:30pm, surgery began. The surgeon and anesthesiologist previously met with us, explaining the procedure - the plan was to use a clamshell incision, which is an incision underneath her ribcage straight across, most commonly used for bilateral lung transplants.
Throughout the night, we received several updates of a smooth procedure and stability, starting with one lung graft, then the second lung graft, and then they held her for a few hours after to monitor and check for bleeding. At about 11:30pm, we spoke to the transplant surgeon that all went well. However, her heart was having a hard time pumping blood into the new lungs, so they would keep her opened up with sterile dressing for the next few days. She would also require the heart and lung machine that oxygenates her blood, giving her lungs and heart a chance to heal, while she is heavily sedated.
On Monday morning, January 7th, 2019, the entire transplant team made their visit to see Sherry to come up with a plan moving forward, as there are many moving parts to her recovery involving the cardiologist, pulmonologist, rheumatologist, etc. She will continue to be sedated/unconscious, and they plan to bring her back to the OR on Wednesday (Jan. 9), to check for bleeding, drain fluids, etc. The goal is to wake her up by the end of the week, so she can start Physical Therapy as soon as possible - the less time spent in the ICU, the faster the recovery and better prognosis.
An average total recovery time is 3-6 months, but they are not sure yet how long this will take. Sherry will have a feeding tube for at least 4-6 weeks, and once she is doing well enough to leave the ICU, she will go to a rehabilitation center. After that, she will need to stay with friends/family within 20 minutes of the U of M hospital (they have short-term housing available for patients).
We pray for comfort, faith, and hope during this long road to recovery, and that Sherry will be enjoying time with family and friends again soon at the lake. As much as we wholeheartedly appreciate the gesture of sending flowers to Sherry, during this time her immune system is being suppressed to prevent rejection, which can make her susceptible to infection. Please refrain from sending flowers at this time. Words of encouragement are greatly appreciated - she will need them when she wakes up. Thank you all for your continued support!
Big and exciting news - Sherry has officially weaned completely off the vent at Bethesda! Next step is capping her trach and then getting it removed. She has been walking, peddling on her bike and gaining so much more strength. She also has started eating food again. She is still receiving dialysis 3x a week and will soon be transferring to the inpatient care at the U of M hospital.
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