The call that changed Brandon Dennis’ life came at 4:25 a.m. March 18. He was lying in a hospital bed in St. Louis.
Dennis, 21, of Chanute, had been in St. Louis since September awaiting a double lung transplant, a result of his lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis.
The disease caused his body to produce unusually thick and sticky mucus that eventually ruined his lungs. He was tied to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day until he was placed on a ventilator at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis in late January.
“My wife (Colleen) got the call at 4:25,” Brandon’s father Loren Dennis said. “She called me at home at 4:27.”
By 11:30, surgeons were wheeling Dennis in for the transplant. The entire procedure took nearly six hours.
Within days, Dennis’ condition had improved dramatically, to the point that he no longer is required to be permanently strapped to an oxygen tank.
Brandon’s long-term prognosis is excellent, Loren said. “We’re talking about tripling his life expectancy,” his father said, “perhaps another 40 to 60 years.”
Dennis, who celebrated his 21st birthday March 9, will remain in St. Louis over the next 21⁄2 months for daily rehabilitation. He also must undergo an unrelated hernia surgery. He’ll have to continually contend with his daily treatment for diabetes, another result of the cystic fibrosis.
But instead of the 40 or 50 pills he had to take prior to the transplant, Brandon’s medicine has been reduced to anti-rejection drugs for the lungs and enzymes to help better digest food, his father said.
DENNIS was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 6 weeks old. His birth mother soon realized she couldn’t handle the challenges of having an ailing son and gave him up for adoption to the Dennises.
The Dennis family lived in Chanute before moving to Cherryvale while Brandon was in elementary school. They moved to Yates Center briefly before returning to Chanute about five years ago.
While the family has state medical coverage for hospital bills, friends and family are urging help for other expenses.
Tax-deductible donations can be made to Chanute Community Foundation, Memo: New Lungs 4 Life, 1111 W. Main St., Chanute, KS 66720.
Correspondence can be sent to Brandon@newlungs4life.com.
