N.W.T. woman waits for 'second chance' double lung transplant

Dawn Loutit is already making plans for life with her new lungs.

"I am going to be active with my granddaughters," she says between breaths. "They are always saying, 'Nana, let's go outside, let's go for a walk,' things I can't do right now."

Without a double lung transplant Loutit, a grandmother and mother of four, will die.

But after years of doctor's appointments and testing, she hopes to be on the transplant list next month.

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Sitting at a kitchen table, she speaks softly over the hum of her oxygen pump. Her comments are interrupted by spurts of fresh air travelling down a thin nose tube and into her scarred lungs.

The 53-year-old, who's from Hay River, N.W.T., has severe COPD — chronic progressive lung disease. It leaves her fatigued and feeling like she's breathing through a straw. Getting dressed or washing dishes is the extent of her physical activity. Loutit is also a former smoker who had tuberculosis as a child.

'There is so much to learn' 

Loutit lives in Hay River but was in Yellowknife this October for glaucoma surgery. Glaucoma is a long-term side effect of one of her medications.

She will spend November at a type of transplant "boot camp" at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton. Along with other potential transplant candidates, Loutit will learn about physiotherapy and post-operative nutrition. She'll also meet members of the transplant team.

"There is so much to learn," she said. "It is overwhelming... and very scary."

Loutit's known for years she'd need new lungs. The screening process can take months, sometimes years. This is the closest she's come to being on the transplant list.

It's been an agonizing process for Loutit's daughter Rosa. 

The 27-year-old now lives in Halifax, but grew up going to appointments with her mom.

"The ups and downs have been hard, but I feel like now she's at the point that this is it. And we're all very excited and scared, but hoping for the best," Rosa said. "You know, anything could happen on the surgery table and we're all just praying she gets that phone call and everything goes smoothly."

Loutit has not worked for years. She tries to remain positive, but the reality of organ donation weighs heavy.

"It is sad that you have to wait for someone to pass, but that person is giving you a second life, a second chance," she said. 

Plans to recover in Edmonton

Once on the list, Loutit will continue living in her own home in Hay River with her son and his young family. Her other daughter also lives in Hay River.

She will have to live in Edmonton for a year after her transplant and expects the territorial government to pay about $2,000 per month to cover food and rent for that first year.

During that time, her sister and two brothers who live in Edmonton will take turns living with her. 

The Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services declined to comment, saying they do not speak to specific cases and wouldn't say whether it's normal for the government to pay for post-operative living expenses for organ transplant patients. 

There are seven N.W.T. residents awaiting organ transplants; three need kidney transplants, one needs a kidney/pancreas transplant, two are waiting for a liver transplant and another is waiting on a lung transplant, according to Alberta Health Services. 

Once Loutit makes the list, her cellphone will never leave her side. When the call comes, she'll have six hours to get to the University of Alberta Hospital from Hay River — most likely by medevac.

Despite her fear of the unknown, she's ready for a new life where she can breath easily.

"I know it's a lot of risk involved, but sometimes you have to take a chance."