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Michael's Double Lung Transplant

My name is Chelsea Fernandez, and I've started this page to supplement medical bills and treatments for my husband, Michael Fernandez who just received a bi-lateral (double) Lung Transplant and who will be undergoing bi-lateral Cochlear Implants.


My husband (we just got married in February of this year!) Michael was born with Cystic Fibrosis.

His outlook as a child was so severe that he was actually a MAKE-A-WISH kid.  He has a lifelong history of medical issues, complications, and exacerbation's all related to his CF and CF-related diabetes.  



Most people don't realize that Cystic Fibrosis is a progressive disease, in that it gets worse with time.  A year ago, Michael's doctors and specialists recommended that he go through a lung transplant evaluation. He could no longer walk around the house without a nasal cannula for oxygen. He brought tanks to work. 

His lung function was down to 24%. 

A few weeks after transplant evaluation, he was officially listed by UNOS. 

We had 4 "false" calls, and let me tell you: driving 5 hours from Miami to Tampa on little or no sleep (almost every time, as our coordinators would call us late) is no walk in the park. Some days we would make the two trips on the same day, as we had work the next day.  It was grueling and anxiety-ridden every single time. We would get there and have to wait, and then get the bad news: the lungs weren't viable.  Lungs are notoriously hard to keep in viable transplant condition.

This happened four different times. 
To anyone who has heard me talk about it, I usually describe it as an emotional roller coaster.

But on August 25th, around 10:30 PM, his phone rang. 
And it was a Tampa number. 

This would turn out to be our fifth and final call. 
We had to be at the hospital by 3 AM, and we both almost fell asleep driving...but we got there.
That night neither of us got much sleep. 

Around 2:15 PM, we received the news we had been waiting for:
The lungs looked great.
They were from a young donor.
SURGERY WAS A GO!

He was finally getting new lungs.

(The board at TGH in his room that we received the good news)


(His surgeon introducing himself and explaining the procedure. A few minutes after this, he was whisked away to the OR.)


Michael's surgery lasted 5 hours and 7 minutes. 
Lung transplant #579 at TGH.
That was a very hard night. 


He was in ICU for a few (very hard) days...
... and was then transferred to the hospital floor. (Many laps were done on 7F.)


During this time, he began having some hearing issues, and was also found to have a paralyzed vocal cord from the extubation.

Some bedside hearing tests were administered, and it was concluded that he had significant trouble. A few weeks later, this progressed into him having what the doctors considered "profound hearing loss."

He tried incredibly painful, high-dose steroid injections directly into his ear drums for 4 consecutive days in a row. 



Unfortunately, they did not work. 

Michael is now completely deaf.
He has no measurable hearing in his ears. 
It's hard to even type that out, let alone speak it to someone out loud. 

Our doctors and specialists are puzzled, and cannot give us a definitive answer as to why this happened, or how it happened. This was never in any pre-transplant literature, never given to us as a warning.  He is in an extremely rare minority that this has ever happened to. 

Along with the total hearing loss, he also has almost constant tinnitus and has had severe balance issues. Here is a still from a video from a good balance therapy session:



Our next hurdle is getting through his surgery next week, on October 25th. 
He will be receiving two cochlear implants to restore his hearing, and to give him a much better quality of life.

2 weeks later, on November 7th, they will activate the implants.

(In a booth for a hearing test.)



(Just some of his medications)

(Getting a 4-hour infusion.)

I have typed this out and deleted it a few dozen times, because neither of us are people to ask for help. These circumstances have humbled us however, and a lot of close friends and family have told us that we have their love and support. 

So, we are starting this as a way to supplement all of the unseen medical costs and everyday hurdles. I have been working remotely for months (when I can), but his FMLA and disability have not kicked in yet. It's a struggle. We have a mortgage, I have a car payment, insurance, medications (our transplant clinic changes our medications and dosages weekly!) different therapies, infusions, specialists...etc. We don't know what the future holds, but we will be fighting together the entire way.

He is my entire heart, and I know no one who deserves a new chance at life more than he does. 

If you can give, please do. Even a small contribution makes a difference.

Please share this on your social media-Facebook, Instagram, etc. We would be eternally grateful. 

With absolute love and gratitude,

Chelsea.

Dona

Donazioni 

  • Naomi Chapman
    • $30 
    • 5 yrs
Dona

Organizzatore

Chelsea Nicole Fernandez
Organizzatore
Miami, FL

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