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Woman recovering from organ transplants 23-year-old Harvard resident got new set of lungs, liver in October BY JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com HARVARD – Two months ago, Andi Swenson’s lungs had deteriorated to the point that they looked like there were beaten by a stick, her father Eric Swenson said. She was in Loyola Medical Center in Maywood because her lungs had 10 percent capacity, leaving her ill. On Oct. 24, 23-year-old Andi Swenson got the news she had been waiting for. A new set of lungs and a liver became available and a transplant would take place at the hospital.
“It was a long process. ... At the same time, it’s something you have been hoping for years to happen.” Eric Swenson Andi Swenson’s father, on his daughter’s triple organ transplant procedure There were two follow-up surgeries that included repairing an artery, cleaning up some blood clots and removing a layer of skin that was on a lung she received. Swenson, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, needed the transplants because the disease affected her lungs and digestive sys-
tem. Enzymes needed for digestion were blocked from entering her stomach, making it hard for her to gain weight. Diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver eventually came as well. The transplant procedure itself took more than a day and felt like an eternity. It started on the Friday night and
didn’t end until the following Sunday morning. “It was a long process,” Eric Swenson said. The wait was gut-wrenching, he said. “At the same time, it’s something you have been hoping for years to happen,” Eric Swenson said. Andi Swenson was given a tracheotomy to help her use a ventilator without having to be sedated with a tube down her throat. However, she can’t speak because of this.
See TRANSPLANTS, page A8
Provided photo
Andi Swenson, 23, of Harvard is recovering after a triple organ transplant.
Taliban attack rocks Kabul
GROUPS HOST NAVAL RECRUITS FOR THANKSGIVING
Guesthouse was intended target By LYNNE O’DONNELL The Associated Press
Photos by Michael Smart for Shaw Media
Naval recruits (from left) Michelle, Jacob and Randi (last names not permitted) spend their Thanksgiving communicating with family and friends via laptops loaned by Knights of Columbus and other community members. Twenty-three sailors from Great Lakes Naval Station visited St. Margaret Mary Parish in Algonquin for Thanksgiving on Thursday. The sailors received a welcome by having access to cellphones to call home, as well as the Internet. They also enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
‘Regular civilians’ for a day Sailors enjoy holiday meal, chance to contact family and friends By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com Sailors lined up in the cafeteria of St. Margaret Mary School in Algonquin to a heap of salad, pasta, sweet potatoes, turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. “I think we have enough [food] to serve the whole base,” said volunteer Ken Prigge, as he helped set up the serving table before the meal. The 23 sailors at St. Margaret Mary were part of the roughly 1,500 Navy recruits Thursday from Recruit Training Command at the Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago who went to 22 locations around the Chicago area for Thanksgiving dinner. In McHenry County, naval recruits attended events hosted by the Nunda Masonic Lodge in Crystal Lake, McHenry Moose Lodge in Johnsburg, and the Sue H. Dufern Serviceman’s Memorial Fund in Fox River Grove. During the events, Navy recruits
meal means the world to them,” said Lt. Adam Demeter, the public affairs officer for Recruit Training Command at the Naval Station Great Lakes. “They get to be a regular civilian for a day,” Demeter added. These recruits, who range in age from 18 to 23, are scheduled to finish their eight-week boot camp next month. Ray Mueller helped organize the event at St. Margaret Mary with the help of the parish’s Knights of Columbus council. This was the second year the parish hosted sailors. Mueller was in the Navy from 1982 to 1986, and knew what it was like to be away from home and famNaval recruits Danielle (left) and Hillary grab a few items from the food table before ily. He said there was food donated the turkey was done Thursday at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Algonquin. by Buffalo Wild Wings, Moretti’s, Bonefish Grill, Rainbow Restaurant, checked their social media accounts Monopoly and Apples to Apples. Sugar Hill Bakery, Nero’s Pizza, and watched football. There were even video games and Sal’s Pizza and BuddyZ. Members of At St. Margaret Mary, recruits bags games. the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire “For them ... to go out into town, had a chance to watch movies or even play games such as Battleship, have a nice prepared Thanksgiving See SAILORS, page A9
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Thanksgiving marked across country with parades, turkey / A6
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KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban fighters staged an attack Thursday evening in an upscale district in the Afghan capital Kabul. Witnesses described multiple explosions and bursts of gunfire in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, which contains numerous foreign embassies and compounds housing international agencies and companies – as well as the homes of some senior Afghan government officials. The attack came hours after a suicide car-bomber struck a British embassy vehicle, killing five people including a British citizen. Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir said there were three explosions followed by extended gunfire. A Taliban spokesman said the intended target was a guesthouse in the district occupied by foreigners. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to give further details, adding only that the target of the attack was, “enemies.” Afghan police flooded into the area and locked down the surrounding streets. Footage from area security cameras showed heavily armed security forces and armored vehicles deploying in large numbers. The attack took place near the compound of the development agency International Relief and Development. The agency’s head of security, Tony Haslem, told The Associated Press the attack lasted about 45 minutes and he heard rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons being fired. Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi confirmed that the target of the attack was a guesthouse in the diplomatic area. He said no foreigners had been killed. “One Nepalese guard was
See TALIBAN, page A9
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