Waiting to Exhale ~ Praying for Tricia

 

To learn more about organ donation check out http://donatelife.net/ .

To learn more about Cystic Fibrosis click on http://www.cff.org/ .

Today my friend Tricia is in a situation . If she doesn't improve in some way or receive new lungs today , she will be put on a vent . Which is not the best or desired scenario . Last night Nate , Tricia's husband hosted a chat session to help answer questions about Tricia's condition , how people can help , debunk donation myths and more . So many people are invested in Tricia , Nate and Gweneth (their miracle baby daughter) that with every new development it seems the earths population gasps . Gasp in fear . Gasp in hope . With every gasp I make I'm reminded how easily I breathe even on a "allergy" day . With every sigh of frustration I notice how easily my rib cage moves up and down . I've noticed I even take my frustrations for granted .  At the moment , it seems with every inhale and every exhale I think of how hard it must be for Tricia to do the same .

Nate aka Clarise - The Joker in the Background :-)

I've written here , here, and here about my friends , their daughter and their continued faith in Gods plans for their lives as individuals and as a family . Last night as I observed the online chat about Tricia I was once again impressed and challenged by these lives . The reality of the situation makes me want to panic , run in circles and cry . I read phrases such as "end of life phase" , "ventilation" ,  "CF patients will die of either...." , and varied others that just make my heart ache . They make all of me hurt on behalf of my friends and their family . I know that I feel helpless I can't imagine how those closer to the situation feel . But once again I say that the words that Nate and Tricia share with the rest of the world are so challenging . I haven't heard frustration , though I'm sure they've felt it . I haven't heard anger though I can't imagine not at some point getting ticked . I can't tell you how many nights I've prayed that the Lord would find Tricia good lungs , that He would heal her so she can spend time with her husband and daughter out side of tubes and machines and oxygen tanks . It may be apart of His plan . It may be awhile before we know .

Tricia & I after getting rained out

of our Putt Putt game in the OBX .

 

Why write about this again ? To ask for prayer . To help make aware details of organ donation . To celebrate Cystic Fibrosis Awareness month . To feel like I've done something helpful . That last one might be selfish , but in a time when very little can be done by those miles away I think little things can be big helps . Just getting out the info that goes along with organ donation to people who other wise may not have thought about it feels like an accomplishment to me . Also, May is Cystic Fibrosis Month , here is a link that you can click on to find out how you can help celebrate , help and spread the word .

 

Quick Facts about CF and Organ Donation

 



About 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year.

More than 70% of patients are diagnosed by age two.

More than 45% of the CF patient population is age 18 or older.

The predicted median age of survival for a person with CF is in the late 30s

30,000 children and adults have CF in the United States

More than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene.

About 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year.



 

Organ Donation:

• Currently, nearly 120,000 men, women and children are awaiting organ transplants in the United States. For specific numbers visit unos.org
• 65,991 Multicultural Patients*
• 1,760 Pediatric Patients*
• 28,052 Organ Transplants Performed in 2011
• 14,013 Organ Donors in 2012
• More than 46,000 corneas were transplanted in 2012
• More than 1 million tissue transplants are done each year and the surgical need for tissue has been steadily rising

*as of March 2013

To learn more about organ donation check out http://donatelife.net/ .
To learn more about Cystic Fibrosis click on http://www.cff.org/ .