Patricia (Trish) Martin, Massachusetts

I live on The Cape of Massachusetts with my boyfriend, cat, and dog. I was diagnosed in September of 2005 at the age of 33 after experiencing a pneumothorax. I have had a total of three or four pneumothoraces that were confirmed by x-ray. In 2007, I opted to have a tubal ligation. In 2008, I  took the advice of the LAM Foundation guidelines and had a pleurodesis in my right lung after my third confirmed pneumothorax. I was prescribed sirolimus while it was still in the trial phase.  Sometime in 2009, I began using oxygen for exercise and sleep. After being on oxygen 24/7, I was listed for transplant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. A year passed without any calls. The program was small then. I made the decision to go to Duke, in North Carolina. 

   At that time, Duke was performing the most lung transplants in the country. I used the non-profit foundation, Help Hope Live in aiding me through the process of fundraising to afford the move. In September 2016, with my caregiver (a retired nurse from the neighborhood I grew up in) the help of my partner, Billy, and close friends, we made the move to Durham, NC.

After completing educational classes and an intense pulmonary program mandated by Duke, I was listed in November and given the gift of a double lung transplant on December 1, 2016, five days before my 46th birthday. After a lengthy recovery, I moved back home in June.

 The first four years were hellish. But today, I am so grateful I made the choice to have the transplant. My life had become so small and confined. Now, I have an exciting life, traveling as much as possible, working part time, and spending time with the ones I love.  Because life is short!