A new lease on life: Iolan on road to recovery after lung transplant

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December 6, 2017 - 12:00 AM

Iolan Jordan Yocham, 19, remains on the road to recovery after undergoing a double-lung transplant Sunday.
The transplant was the culmination of her lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis, a genetic and incurable disease that attacks a person’s lungs and digestive system.
Jordan’s breathing had become more and more labored in recent months, “and it wasn’t getting any better,” explained her mother, Carrie Stiffler.
Doctors put Jordan on a transplant list Nov. 20, which meant she and her mother had to move temporarily to St. Louis, so they could be at the hospital promptly in case a donor could be found.
They got the call they were looking for over the weekend, Carrie said, “although we still don’t know anything about the donor. We just know the donor was a perfect match for Jordan.”
Surgery took about 4½ hours as a team of family members — 14 in all — waited at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Jordan emerged a new woman. While cystic fibrosis will remain evident in her other organs, her lungs are now clear of the dreaded mucus buildup, the source of her many breathing problems.
Doctors removed Jordan’s feeding tube Monday; she should be off oxygen for good soon.
As part of her recovery effort, Jordan walked more than 320 feet Tuesday, her mother reported, and she was moved from the Intensive Care Unit to a private room later in the day.
Her hospitalization is expected to last another week or so at which time sge and her mother will return to a small apartment in St. Louis.
She’ll need to remain in the St. Louis area for the next few months for follow-up examinations and therapy.

WHILE Jordan’s breathing issues may be a thing of the past, she’s not out of the woods.
Jordan must now take anti-rejection medication for the rest of her life to ward off myriad difficulties and infections.
For now, Jordan, Carrie and Jeff Yocham, Jordan’s father, are taking it one day at a time.
“We’re excited and nervous all at the same time,” Carrie said. “We’re excited because all of her results look great,” but the family realizes other complications are not beyond the realm of possibility.
Carrie thanked the friends and well-wishers who have sent notes, Facebook posts and other messages of support.
“It’s really God’s miracle,” Carrie said.
“A Christmas miracle,” added Iolan Helen Stiffler, Jordan’s grandmother.
Correspondence can be sent to Jordan at 1030 Highland Plaza Drive East, Apt. 119, St. Louis, MO 63110.

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