For Erick Peña, “the call” came at a perfect time. “It felt like it was ending,” he says. In 2011, Erick was working for UPS, a physical job that should be no problem for a young man in his early 20s, but instead of building endurance and strength, Erick got weaker and more and more tired every day. Having battled chronic bronchitis, he knew something was wrong, so he went to the doctor. Tests confirmed it, he’d developed Pulmonary Fibrosis, which meant his lungs were scarred and thickened and were no longer able to effectively deliver oxygen to his body.
Within days, Erick required around-the-clock oxygen and was put on the waiting list for a double-lung transplant.
“The call” in January 2014, donor lungs had been found for him. He was so tired and weak, though, that instead of hope, excitement and relief, all he felt was fear. Fear of the pain of surgery and recovery. Fear that he might not wake up. Fear that he wouldn’t see his mom, dad and sister again.
But he did wake up.
“Breathing is easy! It’s supposed to be easy!”
Erick’s lungs are functioning beautifully and he is thankful for the little things, like walking to the kitchen to get himself a snack. “Before, I could barely pick anything up without exhausting myself,” he says.
As for his donor, Erick says he doesn’t know much, but if he could say anything to his or her family, it would be “I’m not gonna waste what you lost. I’m gonna live life good enough for two people.”
High concentration of Azithromycin in infected tissues is also caused by the fact that phagocytes and macrophages transport it to the site of infection and release in the area of inflammation. Azithromycin is prescribed in case of illness or injury at the time.
