Charles George VA Medical Center - Asheville, NC

Volunteer Rob Reuss, right, speaks to a Veteran at the Charles George VA Medical Center with his dog “Digit”, summer of 2017.

Volunteers donate their time at the VA for a thousand reasons but for VA Volunteer Rob Reuss the reason is personal. He owes his life to a Marine killed in the line of duty.

In 2015, Reuss was diagnosed with Bronchiolitis Obliterans which is as bad as it sounds. It’s a terminal lung disease that gets progressively worse over time. Doctors gave Reuss a couple years to live without a complete lung transplant.

So, then it was a waiting game and Reuss was added to the national transplant list. During that time, he became weaker and weaker but passed on a couple opportunities until the right fit came along.

“It’s a very stressful,” said Reuss. “You have to be ready to go for the operation at any time and you have to make the decision about whether a particular donor is right for you and if you are going to have time to wait.”

The right fit was a young Marine named Lance Corporal Matthew J. Determan, killed in a training accident in Southern California.

“Mathew saved me and four other people the day,” said Reuss.

When Reuss finally received the transplant at University of California at San Francisco he had less than six months to live and was down to 14% lung capacity.

“The first breath after (the operation), was like being born again,” said Reuss explaining the first thing he remembers after waking up from the operation.

He was out of the hospital after 10 days and he says that he now has about 130% lung capacity because the new lungs are a little larger than his original. Other than taking medication to prevent rejection and being on constant look out for infections Reuss says he feels great.

Transplant recipients have the option of reaching out to the family to ask if they want to share the donor’s story. The decision is then left up to the family whether they want to reply.

“I waited a year before I decided to write a letter to Mathew’s family,” said Reuss. “I wasn’t sure how they would feel about it or how I would feel about it but it was a tremendous gift to know who the donor was and be in contact with his family.”

The family replied.

Mathew’s father was gracious and happy to tell Reuss about his son. After learning that his donor was a Marine, Reuss wanted to do something to give back to all Veterans for his lifesaving gift.

After moving to North Carolina he found out that he could volunteer at the local VA with his small dog Digit in Animal Therapy and Mental Health.

Reuss spends as much time as he can just sharing his story with hospitalized Veterans and listening to their stories. He and Digit just try to be there for people who need companionship and an open ear. Digit is about the best behaved little dog that you could imagine and his partnership with Reuss seems like a match made in heaven. Digit is patient and ready for a soft scratch behind the ears from all comers.

Reuss says that the transplant wasn’t a permanent solution but his time is now numbered in years and not days anymore.

“I use that knowledge as a reminder to live fully, so it’s a gift to know that my days are limited,” said Reuss.

In the meantime, live fully for Reuss means giving back when he can, hoping that his good feelings can filter down to the Veterans he visits and help them find peace as well.

 

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