Less than two weeks after having his right lung replaced with a donor one, Franklin Park mayor Barrett Pedersen is now home from hospital and back at work.
He told Pioneer Press he was discharged June 13 from Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood – where he had undergone a lung transplant June 3.
It was a very quick departure. Everybody in the hospital said, ‘Wow. You’re going home already. That’s amazing,” Pedersen said.
Though out of the hospital, the mayor said he has some pretty specific and critical medical instructions to follow as he continues to recover and also live with his new organ.
Pedersen said the medical team involved in his lung transplant surgery told him to avoid crowds and dining at restaurants for 30 days.
“For the rest of my life I’m going to be immunocompromised. I’m going to have to be very careful when I’m around people,” he said.
Pedersen, who planned to return to working in person at Village Hall starting Monday, said he would mask up and ask village staffers to wear masks when interacting with him.
He’s looking at Aug. 1 as his goal for returning to physical activities including golf.
“I’m going to be working on the treadmill three or four times a day,” said Pedersen, who added that he was told to exercise to whatever extent does not exhaust him.
He said he would be returning to Loyola Medical Center for frequent follow up care.
Pedersen, 67, previously told Pioneer Press he suspects his lungs became damaged after using an air purifier for several years as an aid to help him with sleep. He said he was eventually diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, with 75% of his right lung “very diseased” and 50% of his left one impacted.
He spent time on the donor list awaiting organs. The mayor also said he promoted being an organ donor, like himself, on his former longtime TV show “Illinois Issues in Review.”
“It’s extraordinarily important. It’s something that is recognized by all the major religions in Illinois. Jesse White, former secretary of state, was a promoter of organ donation. I had him on my cable access program. He said any age can be a donor,” Pedersen previously told Pioneer Press.
Newly-elected Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias continues to promote the state’s “Life Goes On” organ donor program.
“Organ/tissue donors save lives, restore sight and improve the quality of life for recipients across Illinois every day,” reads a message about the program on the secretary of state website.
The office maintains the state’s official registry of those who indicate their wishes to donate their organs/tissue upon their death, the website explains.
Others in Pedersen’s circle also promote organ donation.
Andrea Newell, the mayor’s partner of four years, told Pioneer Press that she had been a proponent of organ donation because she used to work for the secretary of state office.
“Donate if you can. I know it’s a personal decision but it really does help many families. There’s so many people who love Barrett and will have him a little bit longer because of (organ donation),” she said.
Donor lungs – left and right – became available for Pedersen earlier this year, he said. But after contracting the COVID-19 disease at that time, he was not able to proceed with transplanting those organs.
Then came the opportunity earlier this month – but for one lung donation and not two.
“Because it’s such a young, healthy lung, that makes up for the one on the left,” Pedersen said.
Newell, who has now undergone training to be the mayor’s post-surgical caregiver, said the first time the organs became available was a “dry run” for them preparing for the second opportunity.
“Everything happens for a reason. This time around I felt more calm. The first time I was definitely more nervous,” she said.
Newell, who volunteered at Franklin Park Fest the weekend after Pedersen’s surgery, called his recovery astonishing and commended his medical team.
“Honestly, I’m surprised at how well he’s doing for such a major surgery,” she said.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
