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A Story of Hope and Joy

Eight years ago, I was an active guy. I had a great family and I was skiing, sailing, hiking and running a summer camp. At the time, I had no idea what pulmonary fibrosis was, and if someone had told me I would soon be on the waiting list for a lung transplant, I would have said they were crazy!

Today I’m a happy camper, but the road to my lung transplant was an extraordinary journey. To say it took a village to help me get here is an understatement. Along the way, I have been supported by great doctors and coordinators, family and friends, and most of all, a kind and generous donor who died, but whose lung goes in and out in my chest with every breath I take. Talk about amazing!

Before I got my miracle lung in 2012, I was on oxygen 24/7, and I’d been on the waiting list for a couple of months. When I got “the call” that a donor lung was available, I was on the phone all the way to Columbia-Presbyterian hospital trying to get my affairs in order…just in case.

Post-transplant life has its challenges, but for the most part, it’s been filled with great joy and gratitude. I treasure every day. Because my immune system needs to be suppressed with anti-rejection medicine, I’ve had two bouts of acute rejection and multiple bouts of viral, bacterial and fungal infections. But my incredible medical team has gotten me through it all!

Because of my frequent visits to Columbia-Presbyterian, I met a lot of other transplant patients, all of whom had stories similar to mine, and all of whom had the same questions as me: What can I do to help other patients? How can I repay such a life debt? After asking our doctors, the answer was as clear as a disease-free lung: help find a way to fund the research that will make lung transplants just another operation, with no waiting lists, and little or no post-transplant care.

Lung transplants have come a long way, mostly because of new surgical techniques, technologies and medications. However, there are still a lot of big problems we need to solve. We need to develop new drugs that will lower the risk of acute and chronic rejection – without suppressing the immune system so severely that patients can’t fight deadly infections. We need to find ways to rehabilitate the large number of donor lungs that are available – but not usable – for transplant.

Every day, scientists and researchers across the country are hard at work looking for solutions to these exact problems. And while cures for the underlying diseases that cause lung failure may be a ways off, breakthroughs with the potential to positively affect transplant outcomes are close at hand – and might even take place in our lifetime!

The Lung Transplant Project was created to help fund the research that will make life, breath and breakthroughs possible for thousands of patients worldwide. Behind it is the same group of patients, doctors, support staff, friends and family I met on my journey as a lung transplant recipient. Now that our 501(c)(3) charity is up and running, we’ve started sharing our story of hope and joy. Already, tax-deductible donations are coming in and we are really encouraged by all the excitement!

Now that we can get the word out through our website and social media, we’re hoping more and more people will support our effort to build a great transplant community. You can join us by subscribing to our newsletter, sharing your transplant story on our blog or Facebook page, volunteering your time, and of course, making a small, large or recurring donation that can move mountains and help us revolutionize lung transplants together! After all our lungs are a cause very close to our hearts – and hopefully, yours too!

6 replies added

  1. Linda Panetta October 21, 2015 Reply

    Hi Victor,
    You and your team are doing GREAT work. Being a lung transplant recipient myself, only out one year, I really wasn’t aware of the ongoing work and research being done to make rejection less. I do believe now that they need to make bigger strides with their research. Hoping to become part of your team.
    Stay well and Breathe easy!!

    • Victor October 30, 2015 Reply

      Hi Linda, Welcome to the team! The latest research is very exciting and promising and everyone’s help is needed. Looking forward to meeting up at the Holiday Party. Glad to hear you were out hiking in The Adirondacks. Stay Healthy, Victor

  2. Marty Kaplan October 23, 2015 Reply

    Way to go, Victor!!

    • Victor October 30, 2015 Reply

      Hi Marty,
      How is my other lung doing? Hard to believe it’s been over three and a half years since we each got a lung from the same donor! Bless him/her. We are lucky guys.
      Have a great trip to Florida. Stay healthy and speak soon.

  3. mark wallach January 9, 2018 Reply

    I am thankfully not a lung transplant candidate. But I am a cancer survivor twice and a GREAT admirer of the one and only Victor Fink! What he goes through just to stay alive is truly a daily “Profile in Courage”! Despite his many medical hardships, he still is very much alive, keeps a wonderful positive attitude and is a source of great inspiration to all those who are fortunate enough to know him! He derives great joy in making it possible for others to survive lung cancer and extend their lives – as he has. My wish is that others realize that they can not only help others, but also add to their own happiness – by making it possible for sufferers to continue to breath!
    What could possibly be better than to give the gift of life?

    • admin February 27, 2018 Reply

      So beautifully said Mark and we couldn’t agree more. Victor’s mission, along with the other selfless transplant patients and board members, are doing all they can to raise awareness and much needed funding to help make the problems of lung transplantation a thing of the past. Thanks for writing!

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Your immune system recognizes and attacks anything different from the substances normally present in your body, even those only slightly different, like your newly transplanted kidney. The immune system does not discriminate between harmful substances, like bacteria, fungi and viruses, and transplanted organs — so your immune system responds to your new kidney as a foreign substance that needs to be eliminated.

To protect your new kidney, we prescribe a variety of medications to suppress your body’s natural immune response. These medications are called “immunosuppressants,” and they trick the immune system into believing that your new organ is not foreign, and thus it is not attacked. After transplantation, you will be taking immunosuppressant medications for the rest of your life.

The key to maintaining a successful transplant for the rest of your life is taking the immunosuppressant medications prescribed to you. Initially it may seem a little overwhelming, but in time you will become very comfortable with the routine. It is important to take your medications as you are instructed. We want you to become responsible for taking your own medications. We also encourage children to be involved in taking their own medications.

Because you are responsible for taking your own medications, talk with your physician, pharmacist, or nurse until you fully understand:

  • When to take each medication
  • Name and purpose of each medication
  • How to take each medication
  • How long to continue taking each medication
  • Principal side effects of each medication
  • What to do if you forget to take a dose
  • How and when to order more medicine so you won’t run out

Guidelines for Taking Medications

  • Always take your medications at the same time every day.
  • Never skip a dose. If you accidentally miss a dose, call the transplant team.
  • Do not stop taking or change the dose of any medication without prior knowledge and approval of the transplant team.
  • Call your transplant team if you are experiencing side effects from your medications, or are having vomiting or diarrhea.
  • Never take medications other than those prescribed by your transplant team, including over-the-counter medications or those prescribed by other physicians without first calling the transplant team.
  • Store your medications out of reach of small children.
  • Store medications in a cool, dry place.

REMEMBER THAT NOT TAKING MEDICATIONS AS PRESCRIBED IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON REASONS FOR TRANSPLANT FAILURE. Therefore, be very careful when taking medications. Call your transplant team with any questions or concerns no matter how small they may seem. Some of your immunosuppressive medicines are dosed by the levels of the drug in your blood. That is why it is important to have your blood tested at the correct time.