Hi,
It's Brooks and it's good to be here with you.
I wanted to tell you that I'm really glad I can breathe.
I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I can breathe.
And I'll tell you why that is,
You know.
And I was reminded of this yesterday because I was out for a while and this medical supply truck passed me by.
And I remember back to when that was a big part of my life and my lungs,
I think it was about eight and a half years ago,
And the medical supply truck would come by and deliver these supplies to our house because I wasn't getting enough oxygen on my own.
My lungs were really sick and they were getting worse day by day.
So the medical supply truck brought this big machine called an oxygen concentrator and you plug it into the wall and it pulls extra oxygen out of the air and it's going on all the time and it's really loud.
And it went through this nasal cannula into my nose and that's how I got extra oxygen.
Because if I didn't use that,
My oxygen levels would be really low and I would end up dying.
So there was this nasal cannula delivery system and there was the oxygen concentrator and next to the bed were also all these cans of oxygen,
Like 100% pure oxygen,
In case electricity went out,
Which happened a couple times.
And that was like a really nerve-wracking time,
Very stressful time.
And I was really grateful to have the oxygen,
But it was also really hard,
Difficult experience to go through.
And so I was reminiscing about that,
You know.
And I remember back to how even though I had the nasal cannula going and all that,
I was just like,
Oh my god,
You know,
I wish that I could breathe well without any of that stuff.
You know,
Breathing was something I took for granted.
Up till then it was like breathing was just,
It was happening and I was okay.
I mean I had allergies as a kid and sometimes breathing got a little reduced,
But you know,
It still went on.
There was breathing happening.
So to get sick and to lose my ability to breathe well was life-changing.
You know,
It made me realize,
Oh my god,
Breathing is the best thing in the world and I want it.
I felt like those people that were like,
I want to win the lottery,
I want to win the lottery,
You know.
It's like my feeling was,
I want to be able to breathe,
I want to be able to breathe more than anything,
Like breathe normally.
And so what happened was I was getting sicker and sicker and the doctors told me,
You know,
We think you should get a lung transplant.
And I didn't want to get a lung transplant because I liked my lungs.
Like,
Oh my god,
I don't want to get rid of these lungs.
Even though they were sick,
I just,
I had an inherent feeling of wanting the lungs to keep them.
But at the same time I couldn't breathe and it was,
You know,
But I couldn't breathe very well.
Anyway,
What ended up happening was I got the lung transplant.
I got two brand-new lungs and I remember waking up after the operation.
The operation was like 25 hours long and I was unconscious during that time.
And then I was in a coma,
They put me in a coma for three days so that my body could get a really deep rest and start to recover.
And then,
No,
I woke up from that and I was sitting in the hospital bed.
I remember that feeling of like,
Oh my god,
I'm alive.
I survived the transplant because a lot of people don't survive lung transplants.
So I was like,
Oh my god,
I'm so lucky that I lived.
And I noticed that I felt better.
It's like,
Wow,
I feel better than I did when I came into the hospital for the surgery.
And I also noticed that I had a nasal cannula on my nose,
You know,
That was taking oxygen through that nasal cannula.
And I was very confused about that.
I thought,
Why do I still have this nasal cannula?
And then,
You know,
I remember back to like before the surgery and having the nasal cannula on all the time and it was very confusing.
So the nurse came in and I asked why I still had it.
And she said that I was actually getting enough oxygen without it.
But they had it on partially just in case to make sure that I was healthy.
But also because if you have oxygen taken in that way for a long period of time,
You get addicted to it.
It's like you're,
It's scary to take that off,
You know,
To not have it anymore.
So she left the room and I was thinking like,
Oh my god,
I'm getting enough oxygen and I had this nasal cannula on.
And I really wanted to know what it was like to not have,
To not have that on anymore because that's what I really wanted,
Was to be able to breathe on my own.
And I thought,
Well,
She said that I'm getting enough oxygen on my own.
So it was really scary but I took the nasal cannula off.
And I was hooked up to this machine that told me how much oxygen I was getting.
So you need to get like between 96 to 100.
That's the amount of oxygen saturation in the lungs.
So I took that off and I was like really scared and I looked at the,
I looked at the oxygen number on the machine and I think it was about 98.
Without having the nasal cannula on.
And I relaxed.
This deep,
Deep,
Deep,
Deep,
Deep relaxation that had been so long since I couldn't even remember what it had been like to be able to breathe without that assistance.
So it was one of the greatest breaths that I've ever taken in my life.
Oh my god.
And I felt like a lottery winner.
I felt better than a lottery winner.
I think this is,
I thought this is better than winning the lottery.
This is the greatest gift.
This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me,
To be able to breathe normally.
And before all this happened,
Before the transplant,
Before I'd gotten sick,
I'd never thought about it.
It's like,
Oh I'm breathing,
That's great.
I mean I don't even think,
Oh I'm breathing,
That's great.
I was just breathing,
You know.
It was,
It was like,
You know,
Not part of my,
I didn't notice it.
So anyway,
To make a long story short,
Seeing that medical supply truck and then having those memories and realizing yes I'm breathing,
You know.
I'm so lucky.
I still feel that way.
It's been seven and a half years since the transplant and I still feel like a better than a lottery winner.
I feel like the luckiest person alive to be able to breathe.
And it's really interesting but I'm grateful that I've gone through this whole experience of getting sick and getting the transplant because I have this daily feeling of incredible gratitude.
It was a nice like extra reminder to see that truck and realize that I don't have to wait for that truck anymore to come to the house.
Because I remember back then sometimes all the supplies are getting low and I need to order more and they're like,
I call them on the phone,
When are you coming?
And they go,
Hey well we'll try to get there today if not tomorrow and I'd get really nervous,
You know.
But I don't have that in my life anymore.
At all.
It's gone.
I'm breathing incredibly well.
I've had no rejection.
My lungs are really happy in my body.
My body's really happy.
It's really happy to have these these new lungs.
And I wanted to share this with you because I don't know why I just felt like I wanted to share this because it makes me happy to think about it.
And I was thinking maybe you might like to hear this story.
So thank you so much for listening and take care.
Bye.
