Welcome to Mike’s LFEBridge site. I am Ellen Jordahl, a friend of The Green Family. I know there are many of you following along Mike’s lung transplant journey on his Caring Bridge site and the family’s Facebook posts. On behalf of The Green Family, I first wanted to thank you all for the prayers and encouragement over the past few months. Having a strong support system has been very encouraging to the entire family in such a difficult time. While most of you have been following along for some time now, for those of you who are new here, this is the backstory of Mike’s fight against Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis. During a routine physical in February of 2012, Mike learned he was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). For those who are not familiar with IPF, it is a disease that causes scarring (fibrosis) of the lungs. The word "idiopathic" means it has no known cause. Scarring causes stiffness in the lungs, making it very difficult to breathe. Lung damage from IPF is irreversible and progressive, meaning it only gets worse over time. In 2012, Mike was blessed with a great pulmonologist in San Antonio who helped manage and slow the progression of his lung disease through the use of medication for nearly 12 years. The Green Family was told that because Mike had stayed relatively stable over the past decade, he would eventually “age out” of being a candidate for a lung transplant in the San Antonio area. They were informed that lung transplants were only utilized for last resort, lifesaving treatment, and Mike would never qualify due to the slowness of his disease process. As a family, they did not think much further of this news, given that Mike still seemed so strong, and his pulmonologist did not show much concern. However, at the beginning of 2024, things took an unexpected turn and Mike’s symptoms unfortunately began to noticeably worsen. At first, Mike did not let his symptoms slow him down despite the obvious disease progression in his imaging reports. Eventually, Mike’s family came to realize that he was having a much more difficult time breathing. Rachel, his oldest daughter, encouraged Mike to seek a second opinion at Houston Methodist. Mike agreed and at his first appointment he and his family were informed that his condition had worsened significantly. They were told that while his lung function was very poor, Mike had some time to consider alternative options for management of his disease. This was the first time that Mike was told he should begin to consider a lung transplant, as at Houston Methodist, “aging out” would not eliminate a person from a lifesaving treatment. Instead, at Houston Methodist, all patients were given full consideration of candidacy based on various health factors; not age alone. Only a short 10 days after establishing care with his new pulmonology team at Houston Methodist, Mike developed a respiratory infection that ultimately triggered his lung disease to progress very rapidly. His family quickly saw that he was struggling with every breath so Debbie, Mike’s wife, took him to the emergency room. That day, he left the emergency room unable to breathe without supplemental oxygen due to further damage to his lungs from the respiratory infection. Mike quickly returned to his pulmonologist in Houston who confirmed a very rapid and unexpected exacerbation of his lung disease. The Green Family was told because of the severe damage to both of his lungs, his only option for improved health and quality of life would be to proceed with an evaluation for a lung transplantation. After deliberation with his family, many prayers, and careful research, Mike decided to proceed with the evaluation and interviews for lung transplant candidacy. For those unfamiliar with organ transplants, the evaluation process is a very detailed and in-depth process. To even be considered a candidate, you must live within a certain radius of the hospital in which you are being listed for transplantation at. Therefore, Mike temporarily relocated to Houston in February 2024. He attended pulmonary rehabilitation 2 times per week to hopefully slow the loss of his lung function, endurance and strength. On May 1, 2024, Mike began tests to determine his candidacy and, together, The Green Family underwent interviews to ensure proper familial support was in place, as organ transplantation can be a very difficult road, both physically and mentally. After two weeks of waiting by the phone and praying for good news, Mike’s transplant team called and told him he was officially listed on the National Organ Transplant List. He would be listed to receive a unilateral (one sided) lung transplant of either the right or left lung, which would hopefully shorten the time he was waitlisted. On June 9th at 10:00 am, only two weeks after being on the transplant list, Mike received the phone call that he had an offer for a left lung. He accepted the offer and was taken immediately to Houston Methodist where he was prepped overnight for surgery to begin early the following morning as soon as the lung arrived at the hospital. On June 10th Mike’s wife, Debbie, and his daughters, Rachel and Kelsey, were allowed to be by his side until they took him into the operating room at 8:00 am. Mike was nervous, but he was strong and in good spirits, knowing that God was on his side and that he had many prayers being sent his way by all his friends and family. The only thing he cared about before going back into surgery was that his family did not worry about him, assuring them this was God’s plan and that he was ready to get his life back. Mike's surgery lasted 5 hours and was a success. Within only 3 hours after completion of the surgery, Mike was able to be fully weaned off the ventilator and he was able to breathe all on his own. His first night after the transplant was difficult, as expected, due to pain and the discomfort of coming off sedation. Mike also developed atrial fibrillation his first night after the surgery, however this did not stop him initially. Only 3 days after receiving his transplant, he was able to walk upwards of 700 feet with his physical therapist. He was on the road to recovery and his entire team was pleased with how well he was doing. Around one week following his surgery, things started to change. The atrial fibrillation continued to persist, allowing fluid to accumulate around his lungs. At this point, Mike also began to develop severe anxiety, a very common post-operative side effect with lung transplantation. His family was very concerned with the development of this new anxiety. Anyone who knows Mike knows he is a very calm, mellow, gentle, and easy-going person. His transplant team assured Mike and his family this was very normal following lung transplant, as patients are on a very heavy medication regimen and essentially must learn how to breathe again due to the cutting of nerves that supply the lungs during surgery. Regardless, Mike's family took turns staying by his side, day and night, to assure that he knew he was not alone. Over the next several days, the anxiety did not reduce, and Mike struggled with more severe agitation and discomfort. However, he was able to have one chest tube removed and his new lung was settling in well, looking wonderfully on imaging. Mike pressed forward as he was assured that all the fears he was having about his new lung were completely normal and that the new lung was working as well. After about two weeks, Mike began to return more to his normal self. He was still anxious, but he was not nearly as agitated as his body began to adjust to his new medication regimen and his new lung. He continued to work relentlessly on his breathing exercises and do as much as he could during his physical therapy sessions. On June 28th around 9 am, at 18 days post-op, Mike underwent a routine bronchoscopy. A bronchoscopy is typically a short duration (10-20 minute) procedure to clear out any fluid accumulation from the lungs; a common need for lung transplant patients in early recovery. The procedure requires short lasting sedation. At this point, Mike had already had several bronchoscopies done. In each of his prior bronchoscopies, he would wake up within 30 minutes to 1-2 hours following the procedure. However, on June 28th, for an unexplained reason, Mike did not wake up. Debbie, who was present in the room that morning, expressed her concern about him not waking up as he normally did. The nursing team assured Debbie that Mike was fine and not to worry as they expected the sedation to wear off soon. She continued to ask questions throughout the day about why he was still asleep. Time and time again, she was reassured that it was normal. It was not until 4 pm that day that the nursing team began to worry and called Mike’s doctors in, who were there at his side almost immediately. It was hastily decided that Mike would need to be re-intubated and placed back on full ventilatory support due to very worrisome levels of CO2 in his bloodstream. For an unknown reason, he was in acute respiratory failure. After several imaging reports, it was determined that Mike had aspirated while sedated, filling both of his lungs with fluid. Tests were conducted to determine if infection was present, however all tests were fortunately negative. It was then later found that due to the aspiration of stomach fluids into his lungs, Mike had sustained a chemical burn to the left, newly transplanted lung. His transplant doctors informed his family that he was in a very critical condition and that being placed back on the ventilator would allow his lung the best chance to heal. His family agreed to re-intubation to give him the best opportunity for recovery. As a result, Mike was on the ventilator for the following 8 days. The time on the ventilator allowed Mike’s lung to heal from the chemical injury however Mike lost a lot of his strength during that time, including the strength his lungs needed to work correctly on their own. Mike’s medical team informed The Green Family that Mike would likely not be able to successfully be weaned off the ventilator and that the best option to move forward and allow him to awake from sedation would be through the placement of a temporary tracheostomy. The Green Family agreed to the tracheostomy, which was placed on July 6th along with a PEG tube for improved nutrition and reduced risk of re-aspiration. Since undergoing surgery for the tracheostomy and PEG tube, Mike is now awake and taking small steps forward in his recovery. This past week, Mike’s family stated he was able to transfer from full ventilatory support to breathing on his own for 1.5 hours with the ventilator only providing oxygen through the tracheostomy. The reason he was only able to endure 1.5 hours was because of the weakness in his lungs and breathing muscles after being on a ventilator for over one week. Mike’s doctors have told his family that rebuilding his lung and body strength is going to take time. In the last week, Mike has also been able to safely begin working with physical therapy again. He is very eager to get out of the hospital and return to his home. There have been very difficult days in the past month for Mike. Days that he, nor his family, have been able to understand. One thing Mike continues to struggle immensely with is an ongoing case of ICU delirium. This delirium has resulted in extreme anxiety, making Mike feel as though has cannot breathe, which then prevents him from sleeping at night making it difficult for his body and lungs to fully recover. While Mike is now heading in the right direction from a lung standpoint, it is likely there will be many more days in the ICU. His family is anticipating several more weeks in the ICU which will then likely be followed by a form of inpatient rehabilitation to allow Mike to restore his strength to safely return home. All in all, there is a great amount of uncertainty in the timeline for Mike’s recovery. Despite this, Mike’s family will always ensure that one of them is by his side to give him the support he needs during this very difficult recovery time. The Green Family was originally informed to expect that Mike would be in the hospital for a total time of 3-4 weeks before returning home. Mike has already been in the ICU for over 4 weeks. One complication after another has required Mike’s daughters to take more time off from work than expected, as they stand alongside their mom, Debbie, advocating for Mike and his recovery. Rachel has spent each night in the ICU with Mike for the past month while Kelsey and her husband, Josh, have been traveling between Del Rio and Houston every few days. Kelsey is currently 34 weeks pregnant with Mike and Debbie’s first grandchild and will be unable to travel after the next few weeks. This will result in Rachel having to go on unpaid FMLA to ensure someone can be always with Mike. The Green Family is certainly at a time when their presence is critical to Mike’s recovery. While the past few weeks have seemed like a nightmare to this family, they have stood strongly together knowing the Lord has called upon Mike to receive the blessing of this new lung. Mike has a lot left to live for and his family is doing anything and everything to ensure that Mike receives the full blessing of this new lung. Through this site, I am personally hoping to raise $10,000 to provide support and relief of any worries or burdens the Green Family may be facing at this time and allow Rachel to go on FMLA without additional stress. I ask for continued prayers from everyone reading this that Mike can surmount these obstacles and come out stronger than ever before. I ask for continued prayers for the entire Green Family as they navigate this very difficult time together. “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” - Matthew 21:22
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