LUBA'S HEART-LUNG TRANSPLANT STORY 
By: Luba Kobzeff/ Support Group Manager
CONTINUATION OF STORY...
On August the 5th, 2003 I received a phone call around 8:00 pm from UCSD. They had a pair of organs waiting for me and how quick could I be there? I got so excited I was yelling in the phone to the coordinator and I think I was jumping up & down. I made the necessary calls and was out of the house by 9:30 pm. My husband had to lead the ambulance to the hospital since they had never been to San Diego and they only had an address. We got to UCSD in less than an hour since we both were going 90 miles an hour plus to UCSD. The cars on the freeway were kind and moved over. I bet they were wondering why the crazy car in front of the ambulance wasn’t moving over? When I arrived, I gowned up and they rushed me down to pre-op. I was being asked the usual questions. What time did you last eat? What blood type are you? Are you sick? A tall woman in a long coat came in. I asked her if she was my nurse and she said “No. I’m the surgeon.” I shrunk lower than the table I was on. I hoped she wouldn’t mess up on me! My surgeon’s name was Dr. Jolene Kriett and she was the head of the transplant program at UCSD. It was said she makes miracles happen and that night she truly did.
My transplant took 7 ½ hours and had no complications. I even woke-up once in ICU after only 8 hours in there. Of course the nurse drugged me again since I tried to pull the ventilator out. After being in ICU for about 8 days I was taken to the 10th floor and was released from the hospital within 12 days of my transplant. At the time of surgery I was given a 50/50% chance of survival since my illness had progressed to the point of death. On room air I was only at 30% oxygen saturation, breathing on my own. If I had not received the transplant at this time, I would have died before the end of 2003. Dr. Kriett told my parents afterwards that my transplant was textbook like it should be. For the first time my body followed the rules!
I was required to stay near the hospital for the next 3 months. My husband, parents, aunt & siblings took turns staying with me and taking me to my clinical visits. I was doing so well that Dr. Yung got bored with me! The transplant team was extremely proud of how things turned out. I was the first heart/lung transplant in 2 years at UCSD. Indeed Dr. Yung was right when he told me I might wait 4 years for transplant. My wait was just 2 months short of 3 years. I was very emotional after transplant. My body was all mixed-up from the power of the anti-rejection drugs and other stuff I was given in the hospital. I had nightmares, funny dreams of what I watched & had talked about during the day, odd cravings and I watched MTV most of the day. I don’t even like MTV! I cried a lot for the person that died because I was lucky enough to receive the gift of life due to their death. I still think of my donor everyday and thank God he gave me this chance to re-live my new marriage with my hubby of 4 years.
The day was coming for me to leave San Diego and go home. But first I was forced to give up my sweet little birdie. I had lived with birds all my life and it just tore my heart out when I had to let her go. Cookie was taken to a parrot rehab organization in San Diego. She was just a sociable little thing and she was adopted the first day she got there. I heard Cookie and her new owner are just doing terrific and that makes my heart happy for her! It also settles my mind that she is not being abused or mistreated. I had to give her up because for a lung recipient birds are very dangerous to us. We cannot breathe in the down, feathers or poop. They also carry Aspergilis and Aspergulosis, which can do serious damage to the lung graft. So I had to sacrifice and Cookie got the short end of the stick. As for my parents and siblings it always seems that when a good thing happens, 10 more bad things come as well. My brother John was born with a seizure disorder. He is 26 and is currently undergoing preparations to receive a brain pace maker to regulate his seizure activity. He’s considered mildly mentally retarded. Recently my mom found out that the diabetes she’s had for the past few years has created a blocked carotid artery in her neck. It is life threatening but with proper maintenance and check-ups she can live with it. So she is trying to deal with that as well. Mom & dad also moved into a new home during my stay in San Diego. That was pretty hard on them since being with me left no time to pack. But everything turned out okay and now they love their new home!
I am now 7 months post transplant at the time of this story. I am 30 years old and am anticipating going back to work soon. I can say that post-transplant my life has dramatically improved! I drive now, shop, go bank, visit friends, drive hubby to work, go to appointments and I am able to do what I want. I don’t have to depend on the oxygen anymore! I still have panic attacks about the oxygen. I don’t feel the mask on my face or see the tanks around. I feel naked without them sometimes. Strange! Pre-transplant my short-term memory was gone and my long term was messed up as well. My short term is coming back slowly and this morning I woke-up and sang every word to “Take me out to the ball game”. I’ve never known all the words to that song! Will wonders never cease?
I am also in contact with my donor’s family. My donor was a female and the writing process is slow. I hope that one day I will get to meet with them and let them see what a special gift their loved one gave to me. I am also working on setting up an Organ Awareness chapter in my city. The closest one is an hour away going north or south! I’ve come up with quite a few exciting & interesting ideas to promote Organ Donor Awareness and will hopefully follow up on them in the future. For now though I am listening to my doctors and trying my best to ensure a long graft life! I walk almost every day and I will begin riding my bike in the spring. It’s a new life for me and as the Country singer Terri Clark sings, “I wanna do it all!”
