Cystic fibrosis patients fall in love after lung transplant

ST. LOUIS — After an encounter BJC Lung Transplant Instruction ProgramTwo patients fall in love and help others battling the same disease.

Carrie Gobble, now 46, who has cystic fibrosis, remembers meeting her husband as she was preparing for a transplant. Gary Goble is 54 years old and has cystic fibrosis. became her mentor And their connection was immediate.

“At least in our first phone conversation, I think we talked for two hours,” Carey said. “I felt like I could finally empathize with someone, understand that it was just for me, and feel less isolated. It was amazing.”

Their mentorship soon developed into a deep friendship, and with the approval of Carrie's transplant doctor, they became romantically involved just 12 days after the successful surgery. “I remember a moment where I was like, oh my god. I just took a deep breath and it was like I was breathing on my own,” she said.

Gary knows firsthand the power of second chances. “And I couldn't even blow out the candle. So I asked my friends to help me blow out the candle,” he told the 30-year-old, days before his life-changing transplant in 2002. We talked about birthdays. A straw wrapper falling from the hospital tray table after surgery was a small miracle that signaled the beginning of his new life.

Inspired by that experience, Gary became one of the first mentors in BJC's Lung Transplant Mentoring Program.

BJC social worker Rebecca Barton said, “Neither myself nor the surgeons nor the doctors or nurses can really tell you what it feels like. What it's like to wake up on a ventilator. I wonder what it feels like to be in such a state.” The pain, what it's like to take that first step, and that's what patients want to know. ”

Carrie has spent her life facing the daunting reality of a shorter lifespan, but she says that has come with her as she grows older. “It was scary. I mean, you're 25 years old and you know your life expectancy is 25 years,” she said.

To repay the support she received, Carrie also became a mentor. “The mentoring program is a really great program,” she said. “I think her 99 percent of our feedback is positive. For example, patients are always grateful that they had the opportunity to meet someone. And that's very rewarding.”

Gary said, “It's great to have the love of my life by my side. Someone who understands who we are and what I've been through, uh, that we can relate to that, uh. Someone who can connect with that.”

Married in 2005, Gary and Carrie's bond is forged and unbreakable by their shared experiences. Carrie said she is “still grateful that she woke up every morning with him.”

“One of the things that drives me to do this job is to be able to see patients and be successful and live a life and continue to do what people my age get to experience, and that's been pretty cool,” Burton said. . It's rewarding. ”

With more than 2,100 transplants, this mentorship program offers hope to those battling debilitating lung diseases.

The program is “a really important part of the process,” Gary said. He believes the mentorship program is a breath of fresh air and impacts a patient's ability to recover.

Gary and Carrie's love story shows resilience, empathy, and the promise of a second chance – a breath of hope for everyone waiting for a miracle.

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