Joe’s Stories – Old, New, Mostly True
This story is new and very true.
Kathy Meskill, an Ogden resident, was living a fairly normal life with her family until about 15 years ago when she realized she was having difficulties with occasional shortness of breath and breathing in general. Like most of us, she may have initially thought it was part of “getting older” and /or it was a temporary fatigue situation created by her busy life.
When things didn’t get better she sought medical advice. After the usual round of doctor visits, tests, x-rays, etc., she was told she had COPD and Emphysema, conditions that were somewhat treatable but the only possibility of a cure was a lung transplant. Since this surgery was not available locally she was provided with a list of places where such transplants were being done. One of the choices was the Cleveland Clinic. Kathy and her husband decided on that location because of its proximity and good reputation. Clearance was obtained from their health insurance carrier and arrangements were made for an initial visit for evaluation and determination of the requirements for a suitable donor lung. That involved her staying there for about two weeks. She was told there could be an eight-year wait for a suitable match, but when it became available they had to be there within four hours.
The long awaited call came on August 13, 2018. They left as fast as they could, arriving there at 4 p.m. and surgery took place at 5 p.m. The lungs she received were those of a young man, whose family agreed to the donation. Recovery from the surgery took several days in the hospital followed by several weeks of staying nearby for daily monitoring before it was decided she could make the trip back home. A series of progress checks were scheduled. Their most recent visit was November 21, the day before Thanksgiving. There were no signs of infection or possible rejection making Thanksgiving Day a truly thankful day for the Meskill family. Kathy expressed her appreciation to her Church for their prayerful support and most importantly to the family of the donor.
Organ donation has been one of the priorities in Kathy’s life. As a teachers aide at WEMOCO she had contact with many students who were just getting their drivers licenses. She encouraged them to fill in the organ donor part, and was happy many of them did. In this season of gift giving, consider the organ donor program. It is a gift that will cost nothing but leave a legacy of an extended life to a fellow human.
As Kathy continues in her new lungs life she will give renewed effort to supporting another cause. That is Homesteads For Hope on Manitou Road. Having an adult special needs child themselves, the Meskills are acutely aware of the unmet needs for young people who “age out” of most support programs. Homesteads is specifically targeting those needs with hands-on farm based programs, training and classes.
Rest assured, Kathy will enjoy the Christmas season and enter the new year with renewed enthusiasm for life.
