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0117 JANUARY
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live / e x c e p t i o n a l l i v e s i n january 2015,
jamie
crane was in a dark place. he had been told he was in chronic rejection from his first lung transplant. after cystic fibrosis (cf) had destroyed his natural lungs, he had believed the
new
lungs would last much longer. but his
life
was going to end if there wasn?t a miracle. he was in deep depression, struggling to be the husband and father he wanted to be. ?when they told me i had chronic rejection, i mentally shut down. i just thought, ?well, i?m dead. that?s it?,?
jamie
says. ?e miracle he needed arrived september 10 in a second pair of
new
lungs in pittsburgh, pa. at the time of his second transplant,
jamie
weighed only 106 lbs, was on oxygen, and was in a wheelchair.
jamie
?s wife, kristen, and his daughter, caroline, were his sole reasons for going through with the difficult procedure. ?i was in pretty bad shape, and we had prepped for the possibility that it may not happen. i never for one second thought that it wasn?t going to work. i was 100 percent certain that it was going to happen.? and it did. and now, he has a
new
life
and a
new
outlook. even though doctors tell transplant recipients that they are not sick any more,
jamie
never quite grasped that after his first transplant. ?i never acknowledged that i wasn?t sick anymore. with this second transplant, my doctor explained something to me that changed everything. she told me, ?you don?t have cf anymore. if you continue to tell yourself you?re sick, you will live in a hole of depression. you are just a person who happened to have a transplant?.? ?at shift in perspective has impacted
jamie
in many ways. he shares, ?i want to live. i want to be positive. i don?t want to continue to focus on the negative in my
life
.? not only does he have a
new
outlook, but his relationship with his three-year- old daughter has a
new
start, too. because of his being sick most of her young
life
, their bond was fragile.
jamie
explains, ?my relationship with caroline was really by joy holden dampened from all this. i couldn?t hold her, i couldn?t play with her when i was sick.? since he has returned from pittsburgh,
jamie
takes caroline to school, picks her up, takes her to the park, and watches her favorite shows with her. ?we?re a work in progress,? he says. marriage through two transplants and chronic rejection has been rocky, but
jamie
and kristen have been strengthened by all the trials. ?ey try not to make
jamie
?s health a focal point in their marriage and focus on
new
life
new
lungs,
jamie
crane having lots of fun together. ?ey are planning trips to disney and europe. ?it?s nice to be able to plan all these trips. now that i have a
new
life
, and i can breathe again, there?s no holding back,?
jamie
adds.
jamie
takes 11 pills in the morning and 13 at night, and he has to be careful because he has no immune system. other than this, he feels very lucky and thankful.
jamie
confides, ?i really have nothing to get depressed about. i survived a second lung transplant. less than five percent of people even get a second lung transplant.? because of his second and third chances at
life
,
jamie
is a huge proponent for organ donation. he shares, ?ninety-five percent of the population supports organ donation, but only 52 percent are registered donors. become an organ donor because when you pass, you can?t take them with you. leave them here for someone who needs them.? because two people chose to donate
life
,
jamie
now can live his. ? 54 brparents.com | january 2017
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