A while back I had written in this blog about the experience of my son’s lung transplant. I don’t much feel like writing this post, but in the interest of following up the story, I am.
Albert lost his 35-year battle against Cystic Fibrosis this past week. He passed away in Pittsburgh at the same hospital he had received his new lungs in.
He had been in the hospital for nearly the past six months. Problems with lung infections caused the new lungs to present rejection symptoms. The cocktail of drugs being used to fight both the infections and the rejection took their toll on his kidneys and he experienced kidney failure. Eventually, they reached the point where if they treated the infection aggressively, they would lose the battle against rejection and if they treated for the rejection, the infection would get worse.
His brother and I visited him and were on the way there again when the news arrived. He had refused a ventilator and accepted his end with courage and grace.
He told his brother, Frank, who is also a CF patient and currently undergoing transplant approval, that the transplant was worth it and he was glad for the extra time it gave him. He had the transplant three years ago.
Please remember Albert in your thoughts. Should you wish, a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in his name would be appreciated.
His cartoon web page has been updated as a memorial site. You can see it here.
Many friends have left touching notes at his Facebook page as well.
