Medford mayor back after lung transplant

Medford Mayor Danny Thomas had no clue that his first year back in office would be marked by a struggle with COVID-related blood clots that led to a lung transplant.
Today, he is grateful: to the medical professionals who cared for him, to the donor who provided him with new lungs, to his family, to the Medford Council and to the community.
"The Mayo Clinic is amazing; I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. We're lucky to have them so close," said Thomas, who spent several months in Rochester recovering from a lung transplant this past fall.
"I'll tell you this - before this took place, we didn't pay a lot of attention to donating [our organs]. You don't think about what it could do for people until you happen to see how it saves lives. It's so important."
Thomas said both he and his wife plan to become organ donors, as do their children.
"You learn more as you spend time with all the other recipients during the process. Now that we're educated, we see the importance."
"If you know that you're not going to make it, you can save someone else's life."
Now that he's back home and back in the mayor's chair, Thomas said he is happy to keep serving the community he loves.
He described the community as a family and one that needed him to run for a return term in 2020 after taking time away from the role for several election cycles.
"It was the community that elected me, not me," Thomas said.
"I only missed three council meetings and I donated all the meeting money back to the city. Some went to the Main Street lights and some to the fire department," Thomas said of his time away. "The council did an outstanding job and all I can do is commend them. Chad Langeslag led them and they kept the community running. That council is a good council and they were willing to run without me there."
Thomas' transplant journey began after developing blood clots in his legs. It wasn't long after he got his first COVID-19 shot on April 11.
"I went to Rochester for an infusion four or five days after I got clots and then I went to Abbott and they put filters in my chest so they wouldn't advance," Thomas said. "Then after I came home, I found out I had COVID, where I got it, I have no clue and I was as careful as can be."
Shortly after that, he got his second round of the vaccine.
"From there, I went to Mayo because I couldn't breathe," Thomas said. "After that, they told me that I needed a lung transplant. They basically told me that my lungs were like a farmer's lung."
He received his third shot after an evaluation on Aug. 11.
"Then I went into the ICU and they told me they were going to be put me on a ventilator," Thomas said. "At that point. I knew I was close to not making it."
Thomas' family was informed that he might only have a few days left.
"Shortly after that, they said that I was bad enough along and high enough up the list to do the transplant," Thomas said. "They told me that lungs were on the way and on Aug. 25, they got ready."
After a successful transplant, Thomas began the arduous journey through rehabilitation.  "I wasn't paralyzed, but you're so weak that you have trouble doing stuff. I had trouble talking due to my vocal cords."
"I spent about three weeks at the rehab center and for days, you have to go to a house with a caretaker – which was my wife- I would have been lost without her," Thomas said. "You have to learn how to build your strength back up."
He stayed at the rehab house until Nov. 17. "During that time, you go back and forth to the hospital every day," Thomas said. "Sometimes, you'd have to be there from seven in the morning until six at night."
"I have got to commend my wife. She had to go through every step of this process with me every day."
During his time away, Thomas received many well-wishes from those in the community. "Of course, my kids put it on Facebook and it had a great response from people all over Medford and it was overwhelming," he said. "My wife and I were amazed.
"I think that the community is a family and we work strong and good together. We work through things together and really, that's what got me back into politics," Thomas said of the people of Medford and the place he calls home.
While still rehabbing and getting healthy at home, things are not completely perfect. "It's still day-to-day yet, I do a lot of walking and I'm still rehabilitating," Thomas said. "You're still so weak it's unbelievable. They say that it'll take six or seven months."
 "I'm three months out and home, but I still go over there for tests," he said. "You do bronchitis tests every three months for a year."
"There are some rules in place. I have to wear a mask and social distance. I go to the ballgames now because our grandkids play, but I'm very safe and I'm six to eight feet from everybody," Thomas said.
Upon returning, he informed the council of his current post-surgery restrictions, including wearing a mask.
"The council all said yes, that they would do it and follow the rules," Thomas said. "They have all been very respectful and adaptive."
"Right now, I plan on getting back and getting healthy and continue to work with the city. I enjoy it and I enjoy working with the council," Thomas said of his continued drive to see the city he loves prosper. "We work good together."