Update #32 - In Surgery

Trent is now in surgery. The surgeons said to expect that it will be between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. before they will be finished with the surgery, but they will be giving periodic updates as they can.

During the surgery, Dr. Pettersson will make an incision in Trent's chest, called an anterior thoracotomy, or an incision that goes from your right side to your left side at just below the breast line. In a bilateral lung transplant, each lung is replaced separately. The Transplant Team begins by removing the lung with the poorest function. Trent will be ventilated using a combination of his remaining lung and a machine to help compensate for the scarring in his second lung. Once the first lung is removed, a donor lung will be attached using three connections. The donor bronchus is attached to the main bronchus first, and then the blood vessels are attached, first the pulmonary artery, then the pulmonary veins. The second diseased lung is then removed, and the other new lung is attached just like the first one. Once the second lung is completely connected, blood flow is restored. Finally, the incision is closed and Trent will return to the ICU.

Greg (one of the pastors from Trent's church) will be with Jill starting at 10:00 a.m. and will be giving updates as they hear them or every two hours (whichever comes first). I'll get that info up as soon as I have it.

Finally, just to get this idea stirring in your mind, part of getting a transplant is suppressing your immune system in order to prevent your body from rejecting the organ as a foreign object. That means that when Trent is released from the hospital, he will have NO IMMUNE SYSTEM. We all know that Trent loves to hug and shake hands, but for the first year at least, those types of contact are off limits! There will be lots of fist-bumping and long-distance high-fiving, but closer contacts will compromise his health and his new lungs. Although Trent's release from the hospital is a long way off, the earlier we all begin thinking this way, the easier it will be to remember when Trent leans in for a handshake.

Keep praying! More updates soon.