YOUNGSTOWN Patient awaits new set of lungs

Since September, she has been on a waiting list for a double lung transplant.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ramona Vines' symptoms began 31/2 years ago as a sudden and persistent cough.
Gradually, the coughing spells worsened and she was diagnosed with bronchitis.
Vines' condition did not improve with the medication her doctor gave her, however, and she was hospitalized twice for pneumonia. Later, Vines, 31, was misdiagnosed with asthma, and it took a lung biopsy to reveal what she had: pulmonary fibrosis, which causes scarring of the lungs and reduces the air sacs' ability to expand and draw oxygen to the lungs.
"I went to work sick thinking it was asthma," Vines said, referring to her job as a medical records keeper at Forum Health Northside Medical Center. "I used to wake up and cough for 15 minutes, and it takes a lot out of me every morning. Washing up would take me an hour, and any daily chore is a job for me."
In addition to having the irreversible disease, Vines suffers from a related disease called bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia. She takes Prednisone steroids to treat the symptoms but has osteoporosis because of their long-term use.
Medications didn't work
Beginning last June, the South Side woman made regular visits to the Cleveland Clinic and was given a medication used to treat cancer patients, but it didn't work for her. Afterward, she was prescribed another medication -- one she had to inject herself three times a week for three months -- that caused hardening in her stomach and abdomen.
Despite her efforts, Vines' pulmonary tests showed no change, and she continued to struggle with coughing spells, fevers, weakness, muscle deterioration and fatigue. After exhausting those and other medications, and being told that her lungs would continue to deteriorate, Cleveland Clinic officials thought she would be a good candidate for a lung transplant, Vines explained.
Since September, she has been on a waiting list for a double lung transplant, but no date has been set.
Recently, routines such as showering, dressing, walking and climbing stairs have become nearly impossible, Vines pointed out. She now wears an oxygen machine 24 hours a day.
Vines said her mother and three children, Brianna, 6, Jasmine, 10, and Dale, 12, help her when she's too weak to wash, clean the house and perform other daily activities. Walking a treadmill, riding a bicycle and lifting 3-pound weights as part of physical therapy sessions three times a week have helped Vines regain some strength, she said.
Difficult moments
Vines added that hearing her prognosis was the most difficult aspect of her medical situation. "The roughest part was when the surgeon said I had 11/2 years left," she said tearfully. "But I wanted to know the truth and he told me that after a transplant, people live only five years. No one spoke the whole way home" from Cleveland.
Other difficulties included experiencing extreme fatigue and shortness of breath getting in and out of her car, having problems breathing during weather changes and having to resign from her five-year position. Nevertheless, Vines said that she was encouraged to learn that many transplant patients return to work and that she intends to do the same.
Vines said her main goal is to resume the kind of life she had before her illness, and she added that prayer, as well as her mother and children, have been a source of strength. Maintaining a positive attitude and focus have also helped, she added.
"I believe in my heart that ... as long as I have my mother and children I'll float right through this. I do what I can and let the rest go," she said.
Local residents will have an opportunity to attend a spaghetti dinner fund-raiser set up to assist Vines with food, transportation and other costs related to her medical condition. The event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Methodist Church, 30 W. Front St., Youngstown.
The cost is $5 for adults and $2.50 per child, and is sponsored by the local chapter of Helping Other Women.