On Sept. 2, 2016, The Observer ran a story titled “Awaiting the gift of life,” which focused on the importance of being an organ donor and the story of Charlotte L’Oste-Brown – a woman waiting for the gift of life in the form of a double lung transplant. She was the successful recipient this May and is in the process of getting back to her life in Regina – which includes the continued advocacy for organ donation, for the giving the gift of life.
It was in June 2003 that Charlotte L’Oste-Brown’s life was forever changed – her breathing had become laboured – and in September of that year she was diagnosed with polymyositis – a disease which attacks the connective tissue causing inflammation and degeneration of the muscles. This then triggered pulmonary fibrosis – the thickening of tissues between the lungs’ air sacs.
Up until this point she had been living in Hazenmore, SK, operating a greenhouse business and kept busy as the mother of two active daughters. Her lungs forced her to slow down, but the determined woman she is resulted in a new mission, she would advocate for organ donation and tell her story in hopes of encouraging awareness to Saskatchewan’s dismal numbers regarding organ and tissue donations.
On May 14 of this year – 14.5 years after her first diagnoses and two years at the top of the donor list – she received a phone call, one she silently feared over the years would never come, although she held out hope.
“I was at the top of the list for the last two years and had been waiting since August 2014 – I needed an exact match – so I was just waiting for the call,” L’Oste-Brown explained. “I was told I would get a call and be transported by Air Ambulance from Regina to Edmonton. My bags would need to be packed and I’d have to be to the airport within an hour, and so would the person traveling with me.”
“I had been ready for all of that time and I was starting to think it would never happen, but that morning at quarter after eight, I received the call. I couldn’t believe it. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and was the ultimate high to receive that call. My daughter and I went, and I was in the operating room by 4 p.m. It all went very quickly and there was no time to think. All of the preparation you put into it went out the window and you just go with your emotions.”
A double lung transplant is considered a very invasive surgery, but it wasn’t what L’Oste-Brown was worried about.
“With any operation there are risks,” she says. “For me, many people have asked if I was scared of the surgery; but, I was scared of waiting, I was never scared of the surgery. I was scared I wouldn’t get to the surgery.”
Nearly 33 percent of people pass away while waiting for a transplant.
Now, L’Oste-Brown is looking forward: “I have a lot of body muscle to build, but the last three months in Edmonton set me up to get better. I had to be strong enough to leave… now that I’m home I have to put everything I learned there into practice. For three, almost four months, I never cooked a meal, I just cooked my first one last week. Now I’m getting back into normal household activities.”
Her days are a little different as she is now on a regimented schedule of testing her blood pressure, temperature, and “blows” – the air coming in and out of her lungs. To keep track of her health as a rejection appears in the form of flu-like symptoms, so the tests and anti-rejection medication aids in ensuring everything is going well.
“I might be on a tight lifelong schedule – much like someone managing their diabetes – which to me is way better than the alternative,” L’Oste-Brown states.
What is now in L’Oste-Brown’s future? Continuing her mission in advocating for the gift of life and encouraging people to become organ donors, while simply enjoying life.
“I’ve already been doing a little advocating and I’m looking forward to my own place, I’m motivated to get back to work part-time, and into a routine. But, I’m really just looking forward to enjoying the simple things in life and enjoying them without taking my oxygen with me.”
“Giving the gift of life saves lives. I want to ask people to consider giving the gift of life. There’s a need at every age and everybody can donate. There are a lot of people waiting, so fill out your donor card. It really does save lives.
“A 90 percent majority of Canadians support organ and tissue donation, but less than 20 percent have made plans to donate,” Canadian Transplant Society.
Approximately 4,500 people in Canada were waiting for an organ donation in 2014 and 278 individuals died while waiting for transplants according to Health Canada.
For more information regarding organ and tissue donation, contact the Saskatchewan HealthLine at (306) 655-5054 or visit the following websites:
· Health Canada: http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/diseases-conditions-maladies-affections/donation-contribution-eng.php#a21
· Canadian Transplant Society: http://www.cantransplant.ca
· Government of Saskatchewan: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/health/accessing-health-care-services/organ-and-tissue-transplants-and-donations
· Saskatoon Health Region: https://www.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/transplant
· Need a sticker contact Saskatchewan Health at 306-655-5054.
· Information is available through the Saskatchewan Transplant Program at Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital (1702 – 20th Street West; (306) 655-5054) or Regina’s Kidney Health Centre (235 Albert Street North; (306) 766-6477).
