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Copyright© 2007 All Rights Reserved
Diane Detmer
Website designed, published and maintained by Diane Detmer
Contact Webmaster: dinki@charter.net
Diane Detmer
Website designed, published and maintained by Diane Detmer
Contact Webmaster: dinki@charter.net
An Opportunity to Live
Bill Detmer
1/19/07
Diagnosis - Cystic Fibrosis … Pre-Transplant lung function (FEV1) - 26% … Life expectancy at time of diagnosis - 10 years. But the Lord is good and He sustains His children through good times and bad. My name is Bill Detmer. I am (according to the CF Foundation) one of less than 300 people in the United States over the age of 50 with CF. I kept active playing tennis through college and went for over 20 years without a “tune-up”.
As I entered my 40’s, however, my life slowed down. I was unable to do the things I did 20 years before. It was difficult to know if it was age or CF. But advancing lung disease due to CF got the vote. My CF doctors at the University of North Carolina recommended that I be evaluated for a lung transplant. I was determined CF was not going to get the better of me but as a back up plan I went through the evaluation and got on the list. At that time, organs were allocated simply based on time on the list and since the doctors thought I only had a couple of good years of lung function left, it was time. So, I went through the evaluation process and was placed on the “active” list. After three years, I was at the top of the list and the doctors told me I would start receiving calls for available organs. But I was still working full time and had learned to adapt to a reduced lung function. I would strap my portable oxygen tank on my back when needed and keep on keeping on. I went “inactive” on the list and remained that way for six years. I started needing IV antibiotics more often which was another adjustment; but I could put up with IV’s once a year.
Then it happened … In only a short time, my functional ability dropped tremendously. I was short of breath just moving around the house. After a round of IV antibiotics, the situation didn’t improve. I knew I could this living at this level was not acceptable. I told the transplant team that I was ready to evaluate the idea of transplant further. They said OK but I would have to go through the evaluation process again since it had been so long. The first test they ran was an echocardiogram. The result - a severely ruptured mitral valve in my heart. But I could not have heart surgery with my poor lung function. Moreover, I could not have a lung transplant with such a bad heart. And, to top it off, my insurance company said I could no longer remain with my doctors at UNC.
After much contemplation and prayer, the Lord sent us to Duke - one of the few hospitals in the country that would perform a lung transplant and heart repair at the same time. In less than six months, I had new lungs and a repaired mitral valve. The road has not been an easy one since my transplant … vocal cord paralyzation, kidney failure, dialysis, gastroparesis, stomach wrap surgery and the latest diagnosis … heart failure. But, as I said earlier, God is good and he gives His children just what they need and no more than they can accept.
The transplant team and heart surgeons at Duke have given me a new life. In spite of all the complications, would I do it again? You betcha!
Note: Recently Bill came across a letter he wrote to our family and friends about his decisions to go through a lung transplant and how he felt about all of the "possibilities" He has agreed to sharing this testimony here. click here to read this letter
Bill Detmer
1/19/07
Diagnosis - Cystic Fibrosis … Pre-Transplant lung function (FEV1) - 26% … Life expectancy at time of diagnosis - 10 years. But the Lord is good and He sustains His children through good times and bad. My name is Bill Detmer. I am (according to the CF Foundation) one of less than 300 people in the United States over the age of 50 with CF. I kept active playing tennis through college and went for over 20 years without a “tune-up”.
As I entered my 40’s, however, my life slowed down. I was unable to do the things I did 20 years before. It was difficult to know if it was age or CF. But advancing lung disease due to CF got the vote. My CF doctors at the University of North Carolina recommended that I be evaluated for a lung transplant. I was determined CF was not going to get the better of me but as a back up plan I went through the evaluation and got on the list. At that time, organs were allocated simply based on time on the list and since the doctors thought I only had a couple of good years of lung function left, it was time. So, I went through the evaluation process and was placed on the “active” list. After three years, I was at the top of the list and the doctors told me I would start receiving calls for available organs. But I was still working full time and had learned to adapt to a reduced lung function. I would strap my portable oxygen tank on my back when needed and keep on keeping on. I went “inactive” on the list and remained that way for six years. I started needing IV antibiotics more often which was another adjustment; but I could put up with IV’s once a year.
Then it happened … In only a short time, my functional ability dropped tremendously. I was short of breath just moving around the house. After a round of IV antibiotics, the situation didn’t improve. I knew I could this living at this level was not acceptable. I told the transplant team that I was ready to evaluate the idea of transplant further. They said OK but I would have to go through the evaluation process again since it had been so long. The first test they ran was an echocardiogram. The result - a severely ruptured mitral valve in my heart. But I could not have heart surgery with my poor lung function. Moreover, I could not have a lung transplant with such a bad heart. And, to top it off, my insurance company said I could no longer remain with my doctors at UNC.
After much contemplation and prayer, the Lord sent us to Duke - one of the few hospitals in the country that would perform a lung transplant and heart repair at the same time. In less than six months, I had new lungs and a repaired mitral valve. The road has not been an easy one since my transplant … vocal cord paralyzation, kidney failure, dialysis, gastroparesis, stomach wrap surgery and the latest diagnosis … heart failure. But, as I said earlier, God is good and he gives His children just what they need and no more than they can accept.
The transplant team and heart surgeons at Duke have given me a new life. In spite of all the complications, would I do it again? You betcha!
Note: Recently Bill came across a letter he wrote to our family and friends about his decisions to go through a lung transplant and how he felt about all of the "possibilities" He has agreed to sharing this testimony here. click here to read this letter
Duke Lung Transplant Friends Stories