Jim Bursey?s new lease on life, made possible by a organ donor
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
Jim Bursey of Millersburg can talk about his decade-long ordeal of living with failing lungs, and the times it didn?t seem as if he was going to live to see another day, as if it were any other conversation. But when he starts talking about the late Brianne Hovey, the tone of his voice changes and tears invariably start to flow, because he cannot control his emotions. The 21-year-old Lawton woman?s life was tragically cut short Oct. 1, 2009 by a brain aneurysm. However, her actions before she passed made it possible for Bursey to receive both of Brianne?s lungs and a new lease on life. There are so many things to be thankful for.
Jim?s thankful to see his 10 grandchildren grow up, and to be given more time with his six children and his wife of the 42 years, Cheryl. Jim recently celebrated his birthday and he ?almost blew the frosting off the cake,? he quipped, his family erupting in laughter. He knew it was one of many moments made possible by a special person.
?I?m just thankful for her,? said Jim. ?I probably wouldn?t be here now.? Brianne, an organ donor advocate, was hailed as a hero at her memorial service last summer with Bursey in attendance. The family contacted the donor recipients and invited them to the service, but only Jim and his family were able to attend. Jim has had a tough time coming to grips that a young woman was lost, so he could live. ?I thought when we went to the memorial, it would get better, it didn?t,? said Jim. ?Even though I got to meet her mom, hug her and cry with her, and sprinkle her ashes, it didn?t get any better.
?I don?t know how long it will take, because I can?t thank Bri enough.? There were eight people Brianne saved. ?She did a wonderful thing,? said Jim, who helped spread her ashes at the service.
JIM HAD a tough road to hoe, starting 10 years ago. Working with noxious chemicals and smoking, brought on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a terminal illness with no cure. ?Everything I did was bad,? he said. He became all too familiar with the doctors at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. ?They know me very well down there,? he said, proudly. ?My doctors hug me and kiss me when I come in.?
He?s battled pneumonia a couple of times, and survived a heart attack. He was on the organ donor list, but in the wake of the heart attack, he had to take plavix for more than a year, and surgeons wouldn?t consider the transplant until he had been off the drug for three months. During that time, had some tough spells, where ?we almost lost him,? said Cheryl. He was in Cheboygan Memorial Hospital?s intensive care unit for more than two weeks with a breathing capacity of 16 percent.
The family was extremely concerned during this time period. Daughter Renee Szymanski remembers driving home from the hospital one day and getting a call to return. ?They said, ?you need to come back, it?s bad.? We prayed the whole way. I was calling friends, and we were praying out loud on the phone. Then we got up there and it was the worst we had ever seen.? IT WAS a dark time for Jim, as well. He was losing his will to live. ?I was ready to give up. I had labored so long, I was ready to go.?
The family taped up pictures of his grandkids where Jim could see them. It gave him the mental fortitude to fight for that next breath and get himself out of the hospital. Having the rare blood type A-B positive didn?t make matters any easier. There was only one person on the organ donor list in Michigan and the surrounding states with that blood type. They don?t list names, but the Burseys knew who it was. ?I figured, I would never get it,? he said. ?I talked to my friends and I said, ?it?ll never happen ? I?ll die first.? ?
Daughter Heidi Flewelling said, ?I didn?t know how much longer he had,? said Heidi. ?I moved back here in September (2009) from Harbor Springs, and I wasn?t living in the house more than a month when my mom woke me up and said, ?Heidi, we got the call.? ? It came at 7 a.m. on Oct. 2. Of all the drives to Ann Arbor, ?it was the fastest trip we ever took,? said Heidi. He was prepped for surgery, which started at 6 p.m., and ended eight hours later. There were additional complications, including an epidural procedure that wasn?t handled properly, leaving Jim in pain for three days after surgery. After a month, he started feeling better. Now, he?s at 105 percent breathing capacity. He still has to take about 40 pills a day. ?They are keeping me alive,? he said. The cost is about $7,000 a month. Thanks to the medical benefits he received for his service in the U.S. Army, his co-pay is about $200 a month.
WHILE THE Thanksgiving holiday is here, Renee said her family gives thanks every day. And as a way to give back for the precious life of her father, Renee and Heidi have attended training and will be going out in the community as representatives of Gift of Life, to increase donor awareness and bring up Presque Isle County?s number
?I?m thankful for Brianne coming into our lives, and her family,? said Heidi. ?I?m thankful to still have my dad around. It makes me realize how thankful I am for my mom. It gives me a whole new perspective on life.?