Lung Transplant for Chad

From Chad:

It is with reluctance that I share with you that over two years ago I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The reluctance is more because of my pride, not wanting to share weakness. There is no cure for IPF. Untreated, your lungs ultimately just fail to provide the oxygen that your body needs. My Dad died of this.

Immediately after the diagnosis I was put on a very expensive drug that was meant to slow the progression to failure. And it worked for the longest time, until it didn't. For the first year I was still walking, pulling my clubs along for golf. Then I started taking a cart. I haven't golfed since April. From January until my last round I was on oxygen between shots. I had an O2 tank in my cart. I stopped when I couldn't recover between shots - too short of breath.

In June I started my tryouts for the transplant team. They were very rigorous, invasive and all-inclusive. They essentially check all of your body's major systems to ensure that nothing else is going to kill you. And if they find something, they fix it. Lucky for me, they found extensive blockages in my heart that were just waiting to hit me bad. But preemptively I had two stents placed that corrected the problem.

On September 7th I finally made the team, I was placed on the transplant list. I still wasn't sick enough though. Until now. My latest pulmonary function tests (PFT's) were yesterday. The decline in my lung performance has significantly steepened since last review in August. So now I am sick enough, they say. On the drive home from UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, my doctor called and said "your numbers have gone sky high, you should be called within seven days".

So that is what has happened. The normal progression forward is transplant, tens days or so in ICU, maybe a couple days in a step-down unit, then three months within twenty minutes of the hospital and then home. If there are no complications.

So now you know.

Obviously my family has known of all of this all along, and may have even shared with some of you, but I have been silent. It is hard to admit weakness and it has taken me a long time to get to the point of sharing.

All of the medical professionals that have been involved in my care have been excellent. I have no fear because I am in the best of hands.

(Well, maybe a little anxiety over the whole thing I am about to endure).

I have every confidence that I will be golfing again next year.

Love to all.