Charles McFarlin and Craig Lawton had a joyful reunion last
week at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, at the first anniversary
of the lung transplant surgeries that changed their lives. “We've
come a long way from last year,” Mr. McFarlin said.
A year ago, the two men were the first patients to receive
transplants as part of the hospital's Lung Transplant Program,
the only such program to receive certification in New Jersey.
Mr. McFarlin, 50, of Irvington, New Jersey, and Mr. Lawton,
55, of Toms River, first met after they had their surgeries,
which were a day apart.
“We keep in touch,” Mr. McFarlin said. Last
week they saw each other when they came to Newark Beth Israel
for the periodic lung biopsy check-ups that are part of their
post-operative treatment. The two men joked about whether
the hospital would do anything special to mark the first
anniversary of their surgeries. “We chatted about whether
they were going to give us a party,” Mr. McFarlin said
And in fact, on August 31, when the men came back
to Beth Israel for their annual visit to the transplant department,
there was an informal celebration reuniting Mr. McFarlin
and Mr. Lawton with the team who cared for them during their
recovery.
The Lung Transplant Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical
Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System,
offers New Jersey residents access to lung transplants for
the treatment of severe, non-malignant pulmonary disease.
During the past year the program has performed 10 lung transplants,
and Mr. McFarlin credited his surgery with saving his life.
“If you had seen me last year, it's like two different
people,” Mr. McFarlin said, adding that his life “has
improved 110 percent” since his double-lung transplant
a year ago Aug. 25 for treatment of sarcoidosis, an immune
system disorder. Before the operation, “I was in bad
shape and on the way out of here,” he recalled. “I
could barely brush my teeth. Work was too difficult. I could
barely walk. It was getting to the point I was homebound.
Now my life has been returned back to me.”
Mr. McFarlin went back to work in February as an accountant
for the Day Care Council of New York in Manhattan. He is
also able to once again enjoy the simple pleasures of life
that most people take for granted, like being able to visit
with friends and take long walks. “There was a time
I couldn't go out to dinner, I was so tired,” Mr. McFarlin
said. “Now, I'm going out three times a week.” He
even took a weekend trip to Baltimore, and its beautiful
harbor area, to celebrate the anniversary of his transplant
surgery.
Mr. Lawton, who suffers from emphysema in association with
an enzyme deficiency, had a single-lung transplant a day
after McFarlin last year, on Aug. 26. Before their surgery
both Mr. Lawton and Mr. McFarlin had been on oxygen therapy
24 hours a day, but those days are over. “Now I can
breathe a hell of a lot better,” Mr. Lawton said.
Like Mr. McFarlin, before his transplant Mr. Lawton was
basically homebound. “I'd walk a couple of steps and
be out of breath,” he said. Now Mr. Lawton is back
playing electric guitar with a rhythm-and-blues band, performing
at local clubs at the Jersey shore. He also takes walks every
day to exercise.
In contrast to Mr. McFarlin, Mr. Lawton only had one lung
replaced. He said his other lung remains diseased, and he
still has to get enzyme shots. So he is still recovering
and not well enough to return to work yet. “I still
get weak, I get tired,” Mr. Lawton said. “Hopefully,
I'll be doing more things as I get stronger.”
Both Mr. Lawton and Mr. McFarlin have to take medication
for the rest of their lives to guard against their bodies
rejecting their new lungs. That is a small inconvenience
in exchange for the improvements they have seen in their
quality of life. Once almost unable to walk, Mr. McFarlin
is planning to start a structured regimen of exercise, one
that will include weights and cardio workouts. But there
is one piece of equipment he is thrilled he doesn't have
to lug around anymore his oxygen tanks.
“The best thing is I don't have to have the tanks,” Mr.
McFarlin said. “That has been a blessing, not carrying
any apparatus in order to breath.”
Newark Beth Israel
Medical Center has assembled an experienced interdisciplinary
team for its lung transplant program, a complex procedure
that requires dedicated personnel from a side range of specialties
including thoracic surgery, pulmonary, cardiology, anesthesiology,
infectious disease, psychiatry, nursing, physical therapy
and respiratory therapy.
“It’s a good team of doctors,” Mr. McFarlin
said.
Sean M. Studer, MD, MSc, Medical Director of Lung Transplantation
and Director of Pulmonary Hypertension, came to Newark Beth
Israel Medical Center from the University of Pittsburgh,
where he served as Associate Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension
Program and Director of the Pulmonary Transplant Medicine
Fellowship. Prior to that, Dr. Studer was Chief of Pulmonary
Transplant Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York,
NY.
Lawrence R. McBride, MD, Surgical Director of Lung Transplant,
came to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center from the Mayo Clinic,
Jacksonville, Fla., where he served as Director of Heart
Transplantation. Prior to that, Dr. McBride served
as Director of Lung Transplantation and Director of Mechanical
Circulatory Support at St. Louis University School of Medicine
in Missouri.
Date: August 31, 2009
Contact: Caren Malone
Public Relations Department
Saint Barnabas Health Care System
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