65_RedRoses
http://65redroses.com/
65_RedRoses documentary trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulsm7Ai-yZY
65_RedRoses
is a documentary that follows a 23-year-old CF patient who is waiting for a
double lung transplant and the friendships she develops on her blog,
65_RedRoses (65_RedRoses, 2009). Eva Markvoort vividly describes what it is like living with CF and
the challenges she faces on a daily basis. She created her blog in 2006 in an attempt to reach out to other CF patients because they are isolated from one another because of infection. This can be very difficult for
people struggling with CF because they cannot have support groups because they
run the risk of spreading super bugs to one another, which can ruin their chances
of receiving a lung transplant. I can’t imagine having a chronic disease and
not being able to interact with other patients for strength and support. I think Eva did a beautiful thing by starting her blog because she created a community of love and hope for the future. When
Eva created her blog, she chose the name 65_RedRoses because most children have
a hard time pronouncing cystic fibrosis and red is her favorite color. Eva’s
blog gathered millions of followers through her raw posts about projectile
vomiting and spending hours gasping for air. Despite all her pain, she inspired
people through her unconditional love and positive outlook on life. Through her
blog, Eva connected with two girls, Kina and Meg, who also have CF. The girls
are a great support system for one another, but they admit how hard it is to be
close friends when they can become ill quickly and die from infection.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/27/blog.terminal.illness/
Eva
explains that medications and therapies have helped her to survive, but
sometimes when she becomes very ill it is difficult to receive the medical
attention she needs at home. At the hospital she’s treated with numerous
antibiotics and doctors increase her nutrition to gain weight so she can be
strong enough to fight off infection. At age 23, Eva’s doctors tell her that
the excess salt in her body has created so much mucus in her lungs that she
only has 32% lung capacity. Without a lung transplant, Eva will die. However,
the decision to receive a lung transplant is extremely difficult because it is
not a cure for CF and a patient may wait days or years to find a donor with the
same blood type and body tissue. Also, patients can still die from post-surgery
infections or they can enter a state of chronic rejection even if they had a
successful surgery. Chronic rejection occurs when an individual’s body rejects
the new organ and if the body continues not to respond to the organ, then the
patient will have to receive a new transplant. Sometimes, a patient does not
have the strength or time to wait for a new transplant. It is in my opinion
that lung transplants are not very efficacious because there are numerous health risks and their lives are up to chance since they do not know when they will receive a donor. On the other hand, it does have the
ability to prolong life and give patients an opportunity to live a healthy life for a couple
of years, which can truly make a difference.
Eva decides
to go forward with the lung transplant and she waits for about a year for her
pager to signal that she has donor. The surgery goes very well, but afterwards
her body has an incredibly difficult time adjusting to her new lungs. It was
very hard to watch such a young person suffering and writhing in excruciating
pain. The doctors were doing everything they could, but it just seemed as
though it wouldn't be enough to save her because she was having an even harder time breathing. Eva fought hard and was fortunately able to
recover from the transplant and live a healthy life for two years. In those two
years she joined a rowing team, graduated college, traveled, and fell in love
before her lungs entered a state of chronic rejection. Eva deteriorated quickly
after she arrived to the hospital, but she continued to post on her blog how
grateful she was for her lung transplant (65_RedRoses, 2009). Thirty minutes before Eva’s death, she
posted a video on her blog saying, "I think I'm very lucky, because I've
loved more than you could possibly think, could possibly imagine. So I'm
celebrating that: celebrating my life" (65_RedRoses, 65:13). Eva’s documentary touched my heart
and reminded me how imperative it is to find cures for all incurable diseases, such
as, cancer and CF. I think one of the hardest parts of living with CF would be
knowing how quickly your life can be taken away from you and there is no cure
to save you. Eva’s death happened so quickly, but her lung transplant gave her
the opportunity to experience life in a way that would not have been impossible if
she had not received a lung transplant. It is in my hopes that CF patients will
be able to undergo gene therapy in the future to cure their defective CFTR gene
so they may live longer, more fulfilling lives.
Eva Markvoort's last video before her death on March 27, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjinOU7LR0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjinOU7LR0k
http://65redroses.com/
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