When Lala Juarez started experiencing seemingly unrelated health issues, 她觉得没什么大不了的.
"I started gaining weight, would get tired really quickly, and had a dry cough,华雷斯说. “就像走形了，但又与众不同."
Juarez first noticed symptoms in 2013 after returning home to Utah from a six-month stay with a cousin in North Carolina. 虽然症状令人沮丧, Juarez certainly didn't think they were life-threatening—or that they had anything to do with her lungs.
In 2014, Juarez was given steroids and various cough syrups to help manage her persistent dry cough. She was diagnosed with acid reflux, sleep apnea, and pertussis (whooping cough).
“之后我会洗澡, I had to lay on my bed for a couple of hours to regain my energy before I could even think about getting dressed,华雷斯说.
During a visit to the emergency room, a doctor encouraged Juarez to see a cardiologist. Juarez followed that advice and was prescribed water pills and started sleeping with oxygen. While it helped her symptoms, there was still no diagnosis.
2015年12月, 症状出现后两年以上, Juarez met with a pulmonologist who was able to give her an answer. At 24 years old, Juarez was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH).
IPAH是一种 肺动脉高压或肺部高血压. This increased pressure can cause inflammation and obstruct the small arteries that connect to the lungs.
"I felt like I was breathing through a straw on a regular basis,华雷斯说. "With exertion, it felt like trying to breathe through coffee straws."
虽然IPAH是一种慢性疾病, medications can help slow down the damage it causes to the lungs. 一个双 肺移植 对一些病人来说也是一种选择吗.
在她确诊后, Juarez was prescribed three different specialty oral medications to help stabilize her symptoms and prevent them from worsening.
"My doctor told me I needed to be sick enough to need a 肺移植 but healthy enough to recover from the surgery,华雷斯说.
华雷斯先有了她 肺移植会诊 in 2017 and was told she was too healthy for a 移植. She continued her oral medications, along with IV therapy.
On March 1, 2021, Juarez had her second 肺移植会诊.
"I thought I was going to hear 'too healthy' again,华雷斯说. "I wanted to hold off for a few more years but was told it was time. I had all my testing and was ready for the 移植 when I got the call three months later."
Ten years after her symptoms began, at the age of 30, Juarez received a double 肺移植 at 大发娱乐.
"The surgeons took great care of me, and I am incredibly thankful,华雷斯说. “如果没有他们，我不会有今天的成就."
When Juarez was first told she was ready for a 肺移植, she couldn't believe it.
“当时, I had wholeheartedly accepted and made peace with living with PAH, 口服药物, 静脉注射治疗,华雷斯说. "I'm currently processing that that is no longer the case. I have an independence and freedom for myself that I didn't see possible."
Although Juarez is officially past the year mark, she is still recovering.
"I am shocked at the things I can do daily that I would have never saw myself doing in early June of last year,华雷斯说. "It has definitely improved my daily tasks tremendously already. I didn't realize—or maybe I didn't want to believe—just how bad I was. It's becoming clearer every day with the things I am able to do again. 每天都是惊喜."
Juarez says she can no longer tell when the weather is going to change. 她可以穿高跟鞋而不会呼吸困难. She can do seemingly simple things like make cookies without having to prepare to be exhausted for the next two days. Another milestone was walking through the airport without having to stop and rest.
"Prior to the 移植, the last time I was in an airport was in 2018,华雷斯说. "I had to do frequent stops from the front doors to the terminal. I probably took a good 50 stops to catch my breath and let my heart rate go down. 今年二月, I went into the newly renovated airport here in Salt Lake City and I can now just zip through it."
在成立以来的25年中 犹他健康大学的肺移植项目, many patients like Juarez have been given a second chance at life. 始于1996年, the program remains the only one of its kind in the entire region, helping nearly 300 patients receive a new lung (or two). Although the program may be smaller in size compared to others across the nation, 它的影响范围和拯救生命的使命是强大的.
