The call comes in
Don was actually prepared for surgery twice.
The first call came at 7:10 p.m. on Dec. 26, 1999.
The Sioux Valley on-call medical flight team was waiting for them at the Sioux Falls airport, and they were in the air by 8.
It was snowing in Minneapolis and only one runway was available, so all other flights were kept circling while Don and the flight team landed.
When they arrived at Fairview University Hospital, Don was scrubbed for surgery only to find out the donor lung was infected.
After the mad scramble to meet the six-hour time limit for the lung transplant, Don was sent home.
"It was a relief, really, because I didn't have to go through with it," Don said, when asked if he was disappointed.
He and Linda were well aware what the procedure entailed, and they knew it wouldn't be easy.
The second call came at 12:43 a.m. Jan. 17, 2000. This time it was for real.
They followed the same procedure as during the first call, only this time the weather was better. "We prayed a lot for good weather," Linda said.
By 9 that morning, Don was already in the recovery room with his new lung. By the next afternoon, he was moved from intensive care into his own room.
"Everything clicked along so smoothly," Linda said. "They're so expert at what they do, you don't have time to worry."
Just when they were beginning to feel like the worst was over, acute rejection set in a few days later and infections raged through his body.
For two days, doctors debated placing him back on the respirator. History has shown that lung transplant patients placed on a respirator often must remain on the respirator for months afterward.
Eventually, high doses of antibiotics and prednisone began working, and the respirator wasn't needed.
Those early days in recovery were difficult, but what Don and Linda weren't prepared for was life after a transplant.
"Everyone prepared us for the transplant, but we didn't have any idea about living with a transplant," Linda said.
Rocky first year
It's been more than a year since he received a donor lung, but he's still getting used to the post-operative routine.
Lung transplant surgery is very taxing on even a healthy body. The chest cavity is opened up through an incision under the left breast that follows under the arm and cuts all the way up to the spine.
"I'm finally starting to get over it," Don said Friday.
In addition, the body's entire immune system is disabled so it won’t reject the new lung.
Twice last year, he had close calls with illness- once he was hospitalized with pneumonia.
That's why he needs to take 52 pills a day. Some are anti-rejection medications and some help the body fight infections in the absence of its immune system.
The first two hours of his day are consumed by the pill regime and checking his lung capacity.
He blows into a home spirometer, similar to a laptop computer, which records lung capacity readings for doctors in Minneapolis.
He makes frequent contact with doctors in Luverne who are familiar with Don's medical history. In addition, he travels to Minneapolis every two months for doctors to check his lungs for rejection and infection.
Aside from the medical demands, Don’s condition is still guarded, and catching a cold or flu could mean hospitalization.
"Our lives still revolve around Don," Linda said.
Visitors to the Hubbling home must be healthy, and he may go to church on Sunday only if he's feeling healthy and strong.
God is in control
Don won't deny that he longs for the days before he was sick, and he admits he craves a cigarette occasionally.
"I know I'll always be sick, and I was never sick before. I drove bus for 17 years and never missed a day for being sick," he said. "It's hard to watch the buses go by every day."
Linda said they’ve both had to accept the fact that they’'e not in control. "We don't dwell on it," she said. "You have to accept you're not in control; God is."
Every day that Don is alive, they're reminded of the donor who isn't.
"We don't know the donor; we just know he was a healthy young man [24] who died of head trauma," Linda said.
"This Christmas we really remembered that family and prayed for them because it had to be tough. It had to be hard enough for them to lose him, but they cared enough to do this for us."
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The Hubbling family will offer a special thank-you brunch at the American Reformed Church Sunday to recognize church and community members who helped them during Don's transplant.