This week marked some pretty big milestones for a Nampa teen born with Cystic Fibrosis. Gauge Edwards underwent a life-saving double lung transplant on Sunday. As soon as Gauge woke up, his dad, Frank, says all the teen wanted to do was get moving. Frank sent video Wednesday of Gauge taking his first steps with his new lungs.
Less than two months ago, the whole procedure seemed like just a dream. The Edwards family temporarily relocated to Houston for the surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Frank and Trish Edwards warned everyone it could take some time. “We had told everybody that we would be gone from anywhere from three months to two years -- however long it takes waiting here on wait list."
Then, only eight days after being placed on the transplant list, the Edwards family got the page of a lifetime.
They said nobody was more overjoyed than Gauge. His parents told us, "He was so excited and he was comforting the rest of us like it's going to be ok. He gave us hugs and pats on the back. Yeah, he was ready to go."
Though Gauge’s parents spent Sunday on the edge of their seats, after a successful surgery, they’re simply amazed by their son’s extreme will power.
Gauge told on your side back in April, "Just the first breath will be so exciting."
Now the teen is breathing with his new lungs, without a ventilator, and his parents got to hear the sound they’d been longing to hear for Gauge’s whole life.
In April, Frank longed for the day he would hear from doctors, "It worked.” Then, he hoped to her Gauge's sigh of relief, and the teen said that would be a pretty big sigh.
The family will remain in Houston for a bit to be close to Texas Children’s Hospital, but everyone hopes to be home to start Gauge’s rehabilitation very soon.
The Edwards family does have a Go Fund Me account set up to cover surgery related expenses not covered by insurance.
