Rock On Todd!

​Do you ever look at the love of your life and can’t believe they have accepted you as their one and only. I do, or I did.The night I met Todd, my friend was trying to set me up with his best friend. As soon as I saw him I knew I was in trouble. He was not only handsome, but he was also funny and kind. He made me feel like the most important person in the world. Almost four years later we married. Our love produced two of the most amazing children. When our daughter was six months old, Todd had aching in his back after a battle of bronchitis. Long story short, they found upon CT scan, the “broken glass” effect. All Pulmonary Fibrosis warriors know this is a telltale sign of the diagnosis. Todd never let it get him down. He was a provider for his family and continued to work hard so his children could have the best possible life. It wasn’t until May 2014 Todd started to feel really short of air. He couldn’t walk ten feet without having to take a rest break. We tried experimental therapies prior to being worked up for a lung transplant. In November 2014, his transplant surgeon admitted him to the hospital to be placed on high flow oxygen. He was like a new man. He was walking all over his hospital room, his color was bright pink, and there was a sparkle in his eye, I hadn’t seen in a long time. Two weeks after the admission, I received a telephone call saying Todd was declining and he was being rushed to the ICU. You see, I am a RN who worked with the same patient population as my husband, so I knew immediately he was going to be placed on ECMO. Once he was put on a respirator his heart failed and the nurse practitioner immediately started CPR. If it hadn’t been for her I would have lost my love that night. The transplant surgeon rushed him to surgery to place him on ECMO. Todd continued to fight and wait out his time diligently for his new set of lungs. On January 18, 2015 the call came in there was a set of lungs just for Todd. They would have to wait until morning to make sure the lungs were suitable for transplant. That night during a routine assessment, the nurse noticed he wasn’t responding appropriately and he had some facial drooping. Todd had suffered from several devastating strokes.
​On January 19, 2015, at the young age of 37, Todd passed away after a four year battle of pulmonary fibrosis. Todd’s life is/was not defined by his disease but by all the lives he touched during his lifetime. I was blessed to have spent 15 years with him and have two amazing children with him. One of his main goals once he received his transplant was to raise awareness of this deadly disease and the importance of finding a cure. He wanted to be an ambassador for those suffering from this disease and to support them. He was constantly reading information about new medications and therapies for pulmonary fibrosis but wanted more than anything to eradicate this disease so no one else had to suffer. By raising awareness to this disease we can help fight the battle against PULMONARY FIBROSIS!

-Stacy Mason