Breathing Easy
Mark Davis awoke in the hospital in february with two new lungs
The subject and writer of the story are siblings.
CANFIELD
When Mark Davis watched his son’s baseball team capture the 9-10-year-old state title in August, his feet left the earth for the first time in months.
It was a win we needed in the worst way, given the year our family had.
Things such as taking a deep breath, walking again and watching Little League baseball had become high points for my brother, who for months experienced the lowest of lows. His body had turned on itself several months earlier, and doctors couldn’t stop it. He awoke in February after 138 days in the hospital. He had two new lungs.
“I remember waking up to the NBA all-star game,” he said. “I woke up, and Lebron James was
on the screen.”
He doesn’t remember much else from those early days post-transplant. He does remember the months before, struggling to breathe and wondering if he’d live to see his four children grow.
Mark, 41 at the time, was into weight-lifting and sports. He was always healthy and active – until he wasn’t.
Symptoms began in spring 2014 with puffy, swollen eyes. “They looked like I had been in a 12-round boxing match with Mike Tyson,” he said.
He went to an eye doctor, eye specialist and allergist and was given steroids. He went to the ER several times in the fall for breathing problems.
Mark was admitted to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital Dec. 18, and doctors said he might have dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks muscle, skin and sometimes, organs. He was transferred by ambulance to the Cleveland Clinic on Dec. 26, and by New Year’s Eve, the diagnosis was confirmed.
Mark’s breathing worsened, and he developed a rash on his hands. Doctors gave him three days of heavy steroids, which didn’t help.
On Jan. 10, Mark texted me saying he needed a miracle, that the clinic was running out of options. “Something is so wrong in my chest, I don’t get it,” he texted.
By Jan. 15, he was intubated and heavily sedated, and a few days later, he was on oxygen round the clock. On Jan. 23, we headed to Cleveland to join our family in saying goodbye.
My husband, Matt Tranovich, and I were still in the car when my mom called to say doctors were meeting to discuss a last option. They were going to see if he was a transplant candidate and hooked him up to an ECMO machine to sustain him.
According to the clinic, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used in very ill patients to add oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the blood. Complications arose during the procedure, requiring doctors to shock his heart back into rhythm.
Mark’s daughter, Lindsay, wrote a passionate letter to the committee, begging them to list her father on the transplant registry. There was a lot to consider – his age, prior health, family and the likelihood he would take care of himself long term. The next day, he was at the top of the list.
On Jan. 28, the transplant team flew out to get matching lungs for Mark, but complications sent them back empty handed. It was desperate – he developed internal bleeding and had a transfusion Feb. 1. The next night, the team had a match, and after a six-hour surgery Feb. 3, he was fighting his way back.
Dr. Kenneth McCurry, Mark’s transplant surgeon, said ECMO is used as a bridge to a transplant in about 5 percent to 10 percent of very ill patients.
“I will certainly say his circumstances were looking increasingly more dire,” Dr. McCurry said. Had he been in any other hospital in the country, with very few exceptions, he likely would not have been offered a transplant, he added.
That’s because Cleveland Clinic is known for taking the tough cases. It’s considered one of the top transplant programs in the country.
It took a few weeks for Mark to get moving, but with aggressive physical therapy, he began to walk again. He took his first breath of fresh air from the clinic’s rooftop March 5.
The recovery hasn’t been easy. He was released April 28 but spent a week in the clinic after two pulmonary embolisms and a host of blood clots were found. He’s still on supplemental oxygen but hopes to be off of it soon.
He takes several life-saving medications to prevent rejection and struggles with side effects, muscle weakness, anxiety, chest tightness and sometimes, pain.
In 2014, Cleveland Clinic surgeons performed 106 lung transplants, the second largest number in the U.S. – including two heart-lung transplants.
Dr. Marie Budev, medical director of the clinic’s lung and heart-lung transplant program, said the team tried everything to save Mark. “Mark’s lungs were not going to come back to a reasonable state so they could function on their own,” she said. She estimated he had a few weeks before the ECMO led to problems such as infection or stroke.
“Very few families in the country have gone through what you all have gone through,” she said. She credits Mark’s recovery to finding a good match, Mark’s willingness to work hard and the support of our parents, Frank and Renee Davis of Canfield.
Family and friends helped Mark’s ex-wife, Heidi Davis, keep things normal for the kids. Aside from Lindsay, they didn’t know how serious it was.
“It was a nightmare,” our mom said. “Nothing can prepare you for watching your child struggle to breathe and going through the trauma of a transplant.”
Donor matches hinge on size, blood type, tissue type and other factors, Dr. Budev said, explaining that only 18 percent of lungs retrieved by medical teams end up making it to the transplant stage.
Mark plans to contact the donor family after a year has passed, saying, “If it wasn’t for this man who donated his lungs, I wouldn’t be here with my kids.”
Cleveland was chosen to host this year’s Transplant Games of America, and Mark plans to be there. From July 22 to 26, the event will include games and other activities to highlight the importance of organ donation and to honor survivors, living donors and families.
“I think everyone should be a donor,” Mark said. “It’s one of the most selfless things you can do, and there are so many families out there waiting.”
The former pharmaceutical rep isn’t sure he’ll return to work but hopes to one day. Because his immune system is down, he can’t go back to working in doctors’ offices.
He has to be vigilant about avoiding illness, which is hard when you’ve got kids. He’ll also be closely monitored for life to rule out rejection or damage to his liver and kidneys from medication.
Survival rates for lung transplant recipients have improved over the years, but aren’t great. Chronic rejection is an ongoing threat.
Though sometimes hard, Mark tries not to dwell on the past or look too far ahead. For now, he’s spending time with his kids, Lindsay, 15; Jack, 10; Caroline, 7; and Nick, 6. The ordeal also has strengthened his relationship with girlfriend Maria Stevens of Canfield. “She jumped right in to help me deal with all of this,” he said. “She’s been a huge blessing.”
Mark also credits our parents for helping save his life, saying they fought for him every step of the way. “I know that every day may not be easy,” he said. “But every day I have is a gift.”