When Marcie Barton was hospitalized with pneumonia 2018年，她以为自己会很快康复，重新过上自己的生活. 巴顿是三个孩子的忙碌母亲——两个男孩和一个女孩——她还在科迪她家附近的一所小学担任特殊教育班的教师助理, Wyoming.
Unfortunately, nearly a year after being released from the hospital, Barton had not fully recovered and was struggling to breathe.
“当时我正从厨房走到客厅，上气不接下气,” Barton said. “我决定可能是时候去看我的初级保健医生了.”
Barton’s doctor ordered some tests and referred her to a pulmonologist, who prescribed an inhaler and a few other medications. After several months of treatment, nothing seemed to help.
The results of a lung biopsy showed inflammation in her lungs.
她说：“我的医生认为我可能是肺部无声吸入。. “我去看了GI医生，他们也发现我有裂孔疝.”
Gastric bypass surgery 是为了治疗疝气，大发娱乐巴顿恢复健康的体重.
我已经接近手术资格了，所以大发娱乐决定做手术. 我的肺科医生希望，在手术后的几个月里，我的肺部会开始愈合，炎症会消失.
Instead of improving, Barton’s health continued to deteriorate. She decided it was time to get a second opinion. With family in Utah, 因此，把他转诊到大发娱乐的肺科医生那里是有意义的.
“When I met with the pulmonologist at the U, 他们告诉我，他们会做到那时为止所做的一切,” Barton said. “他们换了我的一些药物，大发娱乐试了六个月.”
In August 2021, Barton’s pulmonologist referred her to the lung transplant team at University of Utah Health.
“Nothing was working,” Barton said. “I had to get back on oxygen again.”
In November 2021, Barton hit a low point. 她的身体非常努力地呼吸，所以她的体重减轻了很多. At her lowest, she weighed in at just 109 pounds. 为了有资格接受手术，她必须至少增重20磅才能活下来.
“I had to have a feeding tube put in,” she said.
A few months later, Barton hit her weight gain goal. In February 2022, 她被告知，她有资格接受双肺移植手术，一旦搬到犹他州，她就会被列入等待名单. 下个月，她离开怀俄明州前往犹他州，与丈夫的兄弟和嫂子住在一起. 她立即开始每月到移植团队就诊，每周两次进行肺部康复治疗.
在被列入名单不到8周后，巴顿接到了电话. The surgery was a go.
Craig Selzman, MD, performed the surgery. Selzman is a cardiothoracic surgeon with more than two decades of experience. He has been at the University of Utah for the past 15 years.
My sister was at the hospital with me when we first met Dr. Selzman. She was so excited, she asked if she could give him a hug. 大发娱乐都很激动，也很感激手术要进行了.
For Barton, it didn’t come a moment too soon.
“I knew if I didn’t end up qualifying for a transplant, or if it didn’t work, I would be leaving behind three children and a husband,” Barton said. “I felt like this was my last chance to be a better mom, a better wife, to be more myself, and to be able to do the things I wanted to do.”
After surgery, 巴顿只在医院住了八天——几乎是双肺移植手术后一般住院时间的一半. Soon after, 她开始了一项严格的肺部治疗计划，以大发娱乐调节她的肺部和训练她的肌肉. Normally, 患者每周接受三天的肺部治疗，持续10-12周，然后进行自主锻炼.
巴顿继续提前完成治疗并提前毕业. 她还准备提前三个月搬回怀俄明州的家.
“团队告诉我，手术后至少要在犹他州待六个月，”她说. “But I came home in August, right before the 90-day mark. 我可以去看所有男孩的橄榄球比赛和女儿的篮球比赛. It’s been pretty amazing.”
尽管她在家，巴顿仍在努力改善她的整体健康状况. 她每周锻炼三到四天，每次90分钟，经常在家附近的湖边遛狗.
她说：“我恢复得很好，几乎没有什么起伏。. “手术后我住进了医院，但除此之外我一切都很好.”
In March 2023, Barton went back to work full-time. 她的学生们立即注意到手术后她已经走了多远.
“When I first came back to work at the school, the kids were asking me why I look so different,” she said. “It’s because I’m not sick anymore.”
在工作和陪伴丈夫和三个孩子的间隙, 巴顿继续定期到犹他州进行随访.
Matthew Morrell, MD, one of Barton’s transplant pulmonologists, has witnessed her transformation at her follow-up appointments.
Overall, Marcie is doing exceptionally well since her surgery. 在移植的时候，她一直在吸氧，而且非常有限. 现在她已经掌握了新的未来，并迅速回到了自己的生活中. It’s been really inspiring.
因为她在2023年3月迎来了手术一周年, she now visits every three months. 最终，她将只需要每年访问犹他州一次进行后续工作. Not that she minds coming back to see her care team.
她说：“我和犹他大学每个人的经历都很棒。. “The care just went above and beyond. I felt like the surgeon, the nurses, 我的医生——实际上是那里的每个人——都知道我是谁，也真正关心我. Now they’re almost like a part of my family.”
比她得到的照顾更重要的是这对她的未来意味着什么.
“The best part is having my life back,” she said. “我有精力去上班、锻炼和参加孩子们的活动. I feel like myself again, 我不再被困在氧气罐里，也不再疲惫到无法陪伴家人.”
然而，最重要的是呼吸的能力.
巴顿说：“他们给我取下呼吸机的那天真是太棒了。. “I could breathe. That was the best feeling ever. I had been sick for so long; I don’t think I realized how bad I really felt when I was at my sickest point.”
Barton is also excited to be a champion for organ donation.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my donor,” she said. “你能给别人一个真正的第二次生命机会，这是一种神奇的祝福.”
Written by Katie Cummock
