Welcome to Duke Lung Transplant Friends
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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
My Transplant Story
Danny Spurrier
1/6/2007
My name is Danny Spurrier and I am a 60 year old male who resides in Southmont, N.C. Southmont is a small community just south of Lexington, N.C. on High Rock Lake. The disease I had which caused me to pursue a transplant was Emphysema. I am so happy that I no longer have it.
I began my pursuit of transplant in January of 2005 after 4 ˝ years of supplemental oxygen. I chose Duke for my transplant for a couple reasons. One reason was their success rate and the other reason was the proximity to me (95 miles). Because of being that close I was able to avoid having to move to Duke so early in the process. But not moving to Duke early did cause some minor inconvenience.
My evaluation process began May 2 of 2005. During the process on May 4 I found out that I had 70% blockage in the right coronary artery. This is something that would have disqualified me had I not had it repaired. I received two drug-eluding stents about 1.5 hours after the problem was discovered. I passed all the other tests for that week and was notified that I was accepted as a candidate for transplant.
I began rehab at the Duke Center for Living 5 days per week about 4 hours per day which I drove 95 miles each way on a daily basis for all 23 sessions. After completing rehab, I continued on a graduate basis daily while awaiting “the call” that we all are so familiar with. I received that call at 3:15 AM on September 18, 2005. I had only been active on the list for 3 days at that time. Talk about a bundle of nerves, wow!! I picked up my son and began the drive to Duke one more time. Yes, I drove myself because I don’t think I would have been able to ride knowing what I was possibly facing. I arrived at Duke about 5:30 AM and was raced from the emergency area to a room somewhere in the hospital. I received the call that it was a “go” at about 9:00 AM and really don’t recall much after that until I woke up the following day with lungs that I received from a 24 year old donor. I did great in the hospital and was released on the 5th day after transplant. During the surgery process and hospital stay my kids had obtained an apartment for me in the area where I spent the next few months. I began rehab again on the 3rd day after release from the hospital and moved back home about 3 months later.
The recovery process has taken about a year before I really felt like everything was OK. I had 2 episodes of slight rejection, one hospital stay of 21 days and another of 5 days during this process. It is now January of 2007 and I have been “hospital free” since June of 2006. I am now able to do so much more than I was prior to transplant that it is astounding to say the least. I have been able to at least triple the amount of work I was doing before transplant.
I highly recommend Duke for anyone considering transplant.
Danny Spurrier
1/6/2007
My name is Danny Spurrier and I am a 60 year old male who resides in Southmont, N.C. Southmont is a small community just south of Lexington, N.C. on High Rock Lake. The disease I had which caused me to pursue a transplant was Emphysema. I am so happy that I no longer have it.
I began my pursuit of transplant in January of 2005 after 4 ˝ years of supplemental oxygen. I chose Duke for my transplant for a couple reasons. One reason was their success rate and the other reason was the proximity to me (95 miles). Because of being that close I was able to avoid having to move to Duke so early in the process. But not moving to Duke early did cause some minor inconvenience.
My evaluation process began May 2 of 2005. During the process on May 4 I found out that I had 70% blockage in the right coronary artery. This is something that would have disqualified me had I not had it repaired. I received two drug-eluding stents about 1.5 hours after the problem was discovered. I passed all the other tests for that week and was notified that I was accepted as a candidate for transplant.
I began rehab at the Duke Center for Living 5 days per week about 4 hours per day which I drove 95 miles each way on a daily basis for all 23 sessions. After completing rehab, I continued on a graduate basis daily while awaiting “the call” that we all are so familiar with. I received that call at 3:15 AM on September 18, 2005. I had only been active on the list for 3 days at that time. Talk about a bundle of nerves, wow!! I picked up my son and began the drive to Duke one more time. Yes, I drove myself because I don’t think I would have been able to ride knowing what I was possibly facing. I arrived at Duke about 5:30 AM and was raced from the emergency area to a room somewhere in the hospital. I received the call that it was a “go” at about 9:00 AM and really don’t recall much after that until I woke up the following day with lungs that I received from a 24 year old donor. I did great in the hospital and was released on the 5th day after transplant. During the surgery process and hospital stay my kids had obtained an apartment for me in the area where I spent the next few months. I began rehab again on the 3rd day after release from the hospital and moved back home about 3 months later.
The recovery process has taken about a year before I really felt like everything was OK. I had 2 episodes of slight rejection, one hospital stay of 21 days and another of 5 days during this process. It is now January of 2007 and I have been “hospital free” since June of 2006. I am now able to do so much more than I was prior to transplant that it is astounding to say the least. I have been able to at least triple the amount of work I was doing before transplant.
I highly recommend Duke for anyone considering transplant.
Duke Lung Transplant Friends Stories