The 61-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., did not anticipate that to be the primary signal of a coronavirus an infection. However inside days he had developed a fever, skilled breathlessness in his sleep, and was rushed to hospital with a deteriorating situation that ultimately required a double lung transplant.
Sauvé, a wholesome, bodily match man earlier than he contracted the virus, noticed the an infection wreak havoc on his lungs over his two-month keep within the intensive care models of two Toronto-area hospitals.
Whereas his lungs had been scarred past restore, the virus did not harm any of Sauvé’s different organs, making him a candidate for the uncommon process that saved his life.
“Issues had been fairly bleak,” Sauvé stated of his pre-transplant situation, preventing again tears throughout a cellphone interview from the College Well being Community’s Toronto Rehab Bickle Centre.
“They advised me my [lungs] weren’t getting higher and for me to make preparations to say goodbye to my family members.”
After consulting together with his household and medical doctors, Sauvé was transferred from Trillium Well being Companions in Mississauga to UHN’s Toronto Common Hospital, dwelling to Canada’s largest organ transplant program.
A cautious evaluation on the Ajmera Transplant Centre decided he was bodily robust sufficient to endure a transplant in February.
Dr. Marcelo Cypel, the surgical director on the transplant centre who led the group performing the operation, stated Sauvé was on “very excessive quantities of oxygen” when he met him, and scans of his lungs confirmed heavy quantities of scar tissue known as pulmonary fibrosis.
Whereas he was solely on a ventilator for a brief period of time throughout his switch to the Toronto hospital from Mississauga, Sauvé did want the superior lung assist remedy known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) — a machine that pumps and oxygenates the blood.
Cypel stated Sauvé’s lungs had shrunk throughout his an infection, changing into stiff and proof against air movement.
“Lungs needs to be very gentle, like balloons — you’ll be able to push air in very simply,” Cypel stated. “[Sauvé’s] had been very comparable truly to sufferers with power lung illness.”
3 different sufferers being thought-about for transplants
Whereas the surgical procedure was a hit, Cybel stated transplants usually are not anticipated to grow to be ceaselessly used therapies for extreme COVID-19 instances. The process has solely been carried out about “40 or 50” instances worldwide, he stated.
Sauvé’s state of affairs was distinctive in that the virus, other than the irreversible harm it prompted to his lungs, hadn’t left the remainder of his physique in a weakened state, Cybel stated.
Sauvé had additionally cleared his COVID-19 an infection by the point he was assessed for a transplant, which was a major prerequisite earlier than he may endure surgical procedure. As Sauvé put it, “it might be a waste to provide somebody who wasn’t wholesome new lungs.”
Cybel stated the rise of variants of concern which might be inflicting extreme illness in additional youthful sufferers could enhance the variety of switch referrals going ahead. UHN stated its transplant program is evaluating three further COVID-19 sufferers for candidacy.
Although solely a really “small subset” of individuals would qualify, “it’s a very highly effective, life-saving remedy for some particular sufferers,” Cybel stated.
Whole family contracted sickness
Whereas Sauvé is doing effectively in restoration now, he stated the previous few months had been a nightmare for his household.
His whole family, together with his common-law companion Julie Garcia, her 24-year-old son and her father, 80-year-old Juanito Teng, all examined constructive for COVID-19 across the identical time Sauvé turned sick.
Teng died within the ICU shortly after being admitted to hospital, in a room proper subsequent to Sauvé’s. The household does not understand how members turned contaminated or who bought the virus first.
Sauvé, who had no prior co-morbidities that put him at larger danger for an infection or extreme illness, stated he hopes his story can resonate with anybody who thinks COVID-19 is not that large a deal.
“Individuals do not understand what COVID does to individuals … and generally they’re placing their guard down,” he stated. “I believed that once I bought the illness, I might recover from it.”
‘I wish to depart right here by myself 2 toes’
Sauvé stated the instant aftermath of his surgical procedure is a blur, with ache killers so robust they made him hallucinate — a standard response, his medical doctors advised him. He additionally does not keep in mind a lot from the day he discovered he was getting his new lungs.
“I simply keep in mind ready,” he stated. “And the following factor I knew I used to be waking up from the operation — after the hallucinations wore off — and I spotted I wasn’t carrying an oxygen masks.”
Restoration time varies for sufferers after transplants, so Sauvé is not certain how lengthy he’ll want to remain on the rehab centre.
However he does not wish to rush issues.
“I wish to depart right here by myself two toes,” he stated. “I wish to go dwelling to my stunning companion, Julie, however I do not wish to want a walker. I am going to keep right here a little bit longer if I’ve to — it might take two months, three months, however my purpose is to get again dwelling.”
