My Plan Totally Worked

As of this morning, I am Active on the Lung Transplant Waiting list.  My Lung Allocation Score is "in the 40s" (on a scale of 1-100, 100 being the worst).  The LAS doesn't mean too much to me -- it is a ranking (currently there are 47 people on the UW waiting list) but still, donor blood type and size are the first things they consider (and geography -- the procured lungs are only good for 4-6 hours once taken from the donor's body so if someone is declared brain dead in Florida, that doesn't help me.  What helps me is someone who is blood type O negative, about 5'8" and likes to ride his Kawasaki Ninja really fast and reckless around the Puget Sound.).  The LAS really only matters to the average bear when you're in the top 90th percentile, a designation that my doctor considered going for but ended up not. 

The average wait time at UW is six months.  From here on out, I should only be steps away from my cell phone.  I need to be ready to be at UW within 2 hours, no matter what I'm doing.  If get a cold or run a fever, I need to let the transplant folks know.  If my overall health worsens, they can update my LAS at any point and I'll have regularly scheduled appointments with my transplant pulmonologist (next appointment in January), as well continuing to see my Pulmonary Hypertension specialist (seeing him in December).

As of 9:30am on Thursday, November 3, 2011, nothing really changed but everything has changed.  And my powers of willing things to happen (see last night's post) were confirmed. So watch out, Kawasaki riders...your lungs could be mine.