Thomas Kitchen (1965-1996)

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At six months old, Thomas was hospitalized for pneumonia. His doctors assured his parents that his negative sweat test meant that he did not receive the death-sentence known as cystic fibrosis. 

However, he continued to battle infections and was finally diagnosed with the dreaded disease. Doctors informed his parents, Dallas and Joan, that he would be lucky to live to his teens. Young Thomas eagerly participated in enduring daily physical therapy called postural drainage, which is literally a pounding on the chest and back to loosen up thick, sticky mucus in the hopes of coughing up sputum. Living with CF also included oral antibiotics, pills to aid in food absorption, and inhaled aerosols. 

Thomas yearned to be a "normal kid". During his late teens and early twenties, Thomas enjoyed his passion for sports despite not being able to play the way he would've liked. Rather, he was an award-winning sports writer at the high school and college level. 

Thomas' yearly visits during the summer for in-hospital IV antibiotic "clean-outs" gradually turned to twice-yearly visits, and then three-times-year visits, and so on. Unfortunately, once cystic fibrosis gets so progreessed, patients seem to run out of options. 

In the late 1980s, doctors began experimenting with heart-lung transplants, and then double-lung transplants. This showed promise in extending the lifespan of young patients suffering from this disease. 

In 1989, transplant doctors approached Thomas about the possibility of undergoing transplantation., Thomas waited four more years before signing up for the life-altering procedure. He correctly knew that he would simply be trading in one set of seemingly insurmountable odds for another set.

Thomas enjoyed almost three years he had free of oxygen tubes and continuous coughing by golfing, playing tennis, and travelling with his family. He especially enjoyed his big brother role to his younger sister Gloria and provided constant encouragement to her as she battle the disease. Tragically, during the time he celebrated his sister's successful double-lung transplant and recovery, he courageously battled the chronic rejection which took his life seven months later.