WestChesterBuzz.com

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page last week. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.

Alicia Lang loses battle with CF – Alicia Lang, a 2010 Lakota West High School graduate, died from cystic fibrosis Friday, March 8 at the Cleveland Clinic, where she underwent a double-lung transplant on Feb. 11. She would have turned 21 on March 20. The family shared the news early last week.

West Chester hospital to address mental health needs – Millions of Americans experience mental illness each year and there aren’t nearly enough psychiatric beds or funds to combat the region’s growing mental health problem. Beckett Springs Hospital, scheduled to open in July in West Chester, will help address that need, said David Polunas, chief executive officer.

YRC Freight to close West Chester hub – One of the nation’s largest trucking companies is planning to shut down its West Chester hub and distribution center, leaving almost 300 workers in limbo. YRC Freight has informed a local union last week that the company plans to close a significant portion of its local operations as part of a nationwide strategy to consolidate operations, Jason Williams of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lakota West student wins Overture Award – Lakota West senior Abby Koch (pronounced “cook”) was recently named this year’s Cincinnati Overture Award winner for Visual Arts. WestChesterBuzz shared the senior’s story last week.

Lakota West hires Jan Bennett as its new girls’ soccer coach – The Lakota West Athletic Department recently announced that it has hired Jan Bennett as its new head girls’ soccer coach for its varsity program. Bennett takes over the position that was held by Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, Lakota West’s first and only head coach for girls soccer. Schafer-Kalkoff announced her retirement in December.

Voice of America Museum Board gets official go ahead – The West Chester Township trustees, once again, agreed to enter a five-year lease with the Board of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. This agreement, which was made official last Tuesday night at the latest trustee meeting, will put the museum’s board in charge of maintaining the landmark and will allow them to raise funds as a non-profit corporation.

West Chester neighbors don’t want Kroger – A West Chester Township neighborhood has hired an attorney to prevent a shopping center, which would be anchored by a 133,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace, from being built near their homes. The group is preparing for its meeting with the Zoning Commission this Monday.

New Enquirer – West Chester and Liberty townships, as well as the rest of Greater Cincinnati, saw a new-looking Cincinnati Enquirer last week. The Enquirer’s new edition unfolded last Monday.

Many crimes kept secret in small Ohio college towns – Sheila McLaughlin continued to report for The Cincinnati Enquirer on how 40 percent of college students in Oxford walk out of courtrooms with a criminal record that is sealed from public sight. Meanwhile, the rest of Butler County lives under different rules.

Posted in: Business, News, Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia Lang obit, Alicia Lang obituary, Alicia's Lungs, Beckett Springs Hospital, Beckett Springs Hospital West Chester, CEO David Polunas Beckett Springs Hospital, Cystic Fibrosis, David Polunas, fundraiser, Jan Bennett, Jim Lang, Lakota West, Lakota West soccer, Lakota West sports, Lindner Center of HOPE, Lindner Center of HOPE Mason, Mary Kay Lang, Nick Lang, Richard Bryant, Tara Schafer-Kalkhoff, West Chester business, West Chester business news, West Chester jobs, YRC Freight, YRC Freight West Chester

Alicia Lang, a 2010 Lakota West High School graduate, died from cystic fibrosis Friday, March 8 at the Cleveland Clinic, where she underwent a double-lung transplant on Feb. 11. She would have turned 21 on March 20.

Lang’s story was featured in The Enquirer Feb. 22.

Despite being diagnosed with CF at age 5, Lang was a typical teenager who loved to play tennis and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. She even named named her dog, Maria, a rottweiler-lab mix, after Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova. In August of 2008, Lang was able to met the tennis star at the U.S. Open in New York City through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

After trying out for the tennis team as a freshman at Lakota West, Lang had to quit the sport she loved when the oxygen level in her lungs started falling.

In the fall of her senior year of high school, Lang was evaluated by a doctor and told that she needed a double-lung transplant. After more than two years of waiting, she received new lungs in February. Furthermore, doctors told her that she couldn’t pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Moments after being told she couldn’t be a vet tech, her dog, Maria, passed away.

Those hardships, however, didn’t stop Lang from helping others. Despite her condition, Lang led a patient advisory group at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she spoke to patients about self-management of cystic fibrosis. She also shared her stories with staff, so they could better understand the human side of patient care.

“Alicia did touch many people,” said her father, Jim Lang of West Chester Township. “She could sit in front of a crowd and get down to their level to explain her ideas and feelings on any subject, especially health care improvement.’’

Last April, Lang and her father were presented the Making a Difference Award of by the Cincinnati Children’s. The father-daughter team was chosen from among 45 nominees for their work in advocating for patients and families dealing with cystic fibrosis.

While Lang helped out at Cincinnati Children’s, she was also involved with her family as they held numerous fundraisers to help defray costs associated with medical expenses and travel.

Days before the transplant surgery, Lang had to have a breathing tube inserted through her chest at Cincinnati Children’s and then air-cared to Cleveland.

After her transplant, which took six hours, at the Cleveland Clinic, doctors stressed that, even with a full recovery, Lang could never be vet or have another pet due to microorgaisms that they could carry.

“Alicia left us peacefully, was not alert and in no pain. We know she is now with her dog, Maria,” her father said.

In addition to her father, survivors include her mother, Mary Kay; her brother Nick, 18, a senior at Lakota West; her maternal grandparents, John and Jeanette Thomas; and her paternal grandparents, Jack and Nancy Lang.

Visitation is scheduled 4-8 p.m. Friday at Hodapp Funeral Home, 6410 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Liberty Township. A funeral service will be held 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Vineyard Community Church, 11340 Century Circle East, Springdale. A celebration of life will follow after the funeral service.

Memorials: Alicia Lang Memorial Fund at any Fifth Third Bank branch or mail to: JTHF, PO Box, 1236 West Chester, OH 45071.

Posted in: News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia Lang obit, Alicia Lang obituary, Alicia's Lungs, Cystic Fibrosis, fundraiser, Jim Lang, Lakota West, Mary Kay Lang, Nick Lang

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.

Lakota West grad wakes up after double-lung transplant – When Alicia Lang finally woke up Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Cleveland Clinic, she did so with a new pair of lungs. Lang, a 20-year-old Lakota West graduate who has cystic fibrosis, has been waiting for more than two years for a double-lung transplant. On Feb. 11, the long wait was over. Lang’s operation was a success. WestChesterBuzz.com reported the story last week.

Liberty Township trustee Pat Hiltman steps down – After serving seven years as a Liberty Township trustee, Pat Hiltman is stepping down, 10 months shy of finishing his second term. Hiltman said he was resigning effective immediately because a recent job change requires extensive travel.

Justice doled out differently in Butler Co. courts – Sheila McLaughlin reported last week: The weekly cattle call at Butler County Area III Court swells with a mixed bag of people charged with minor crimes and traffic violations. They spend hours waiting for their cases to be called. Many plead guilty, get probation and make a stop at the clerk’s window to pay their fines. Most go on their way with a criminal record that anyone can see.

Gun rally in West Chester – There were times, on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon in West Chester, when the Day of Resistance gathering felt like a heavily armed history class. Hundreds of people stood, many with pistols on their hips or semi-automatic rifles slung over their shoulders, and listened to speakers talk about the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, about the Federalists versus the anti-Federalists debate, and the history of the legal theory of nullification.

West Chester police looking for thief who stole from mosques – West Chester and Miamisburg police departments are trying to identify a man, who detectives say is responsible for stealing donations from a pair of local mosques on the same morning. Crime Stoppers released photos of the suspect last Wednesday.

Lakota West RB Mikel Horton adds offers – Minnesota and Western Michigan offered Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton last Wednesday, according Lakota West head football coach Larry Cox. Horton, who has received interest from Louisville, Penn State and Michigan State, also has offers from Indiana, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green and Kentucky.

ASU offers Lakota East OL Jarrett LaRubbio – Arizona State offered Lakota East junior offensive lineman Jarrett LaRubbio last Tuesday, Lakota East coach Rick Haynes told Cincinnati Enquirer high school sports recruiting writer Mike Dyer. Haynes later told Dyer that Western Michigan is offering, as well. he 6-foot-5, 265-pound lineman received offers earlier this month from Duke, Kentucky and Nebraska. He also has offers from Akron, Pittsburgh, Bowling Green, Toledo, Kent State and Ohio.

Posted in: Board of Trustees, Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia's Lungs, Crime Stoppers, Cystic Fibrosis, Day of Resistance, Day of Resistance rally, Day of Resistance rally West Chester, Day of Resistance West Chester, fundraiser, gun control, Jim Lang, Judge Rob Lyons, Lakota West, Liberty Township Ohio, Liberty Township Trustee Pat Hiltman, Liberty Township trustees, Mary Kay Lang, Miami University, Miami University crime, Nick Lang, Pat Hiltman, Rob Lyons, West Chester Ohio crime, West Chester Police, West Chester Police Department

When Alicia Lang finally woke up Saturday at the Cleveland Clinic, she did so with a new pair of lungs.

Lang, a 20-year-old Lakota West graduate who has cystic fibrosis, has been waiting for more than two years for a double-lung transplant.

On Feb. 11, the long wait was over. Lang’s operation was a success.

Waiting for lungs

As a freshman at Lakota West, she tried out for the tennis team and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. Lang, who was diagnosed with CF at age 5, even named her dog, Maria, a rottweiler-lab mix, after Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova.

During that first year of high school, however, the oxygen level in Lang’s lungs started falling. She was constantly hospitalized and had to put down her tennis racket for good. To make things worse, Maria died.

Then in October 2010, Alicia was evaluated by a doctor and told that she needed a double-lung transplant.

That year, as a senior, Lang only had the energy to attend two or three classes a day. The rest of her work was done online.

College was put on hold. Her dream of becoming of vet was over, as doctors told her that there would be too many germs.

Lang has been on oxygen for more than a year. She was clinging to life.

Receiving her new lungs

“Before the surgery, she was gasping for air,’’ said her father, Jim Lang. “Basically, it was end-of-life breathing.’’

On Feb. 8, Alicia Lang had a breathing tube inserted through her chest. She could no longer breathe without the help of a respirator.

Meanwhile, in New York, a banker in her 20s was on life support after suffering an aneurysm that day. Her lungs were healthy. The young organ donor had never smoked, drank very little and wasn’t on any medications.

While their daughter slept, Alicia’s parents accepted the offer.

That night, Alicia and her parents left Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in a helicopter and landed on the rooftop of the Cleveland Clinic.

Waiting for her to wake up

Until Saturday, Alicia had been asleep for eight days.

While she slept, her parents and her brother, Nick, a senior at Lakota West who also has cystic fibrosis, waited as doctors performed the transplant, then prayed as Alicia underwent a tracheostomy.

Then they prayed for her to wake up.

That Saturday, doctors told the Langs that the arterial line might be causing a blood clot, preventing blood from going into her hand. Alicia was going to need her third surgery in five days.

After surgery, Alicia started reacting to her parents. She then opened her eyes, grabbed their hands, wiggled her toes and watched some television.

“She should have awakened earlier than she did, so it is a relief,” said her mother, Mary Kay Lang.

Even though she is awake, Alicia still can’t speak due to her trach, which is a tube in her neck that she uses to breathe. She also can’t comprehend what her parents are saying, due to heavy sedation and pain medication.

“She seems aware that she received the transplant, but whether she gets the whole gist of it, it is hard to say,” her mother said.

Mary Kay is staying in Cleveland until Alicia is cleared to return to the family’s West Chester home. That could be six months. Alicia will be in the hospital for another six weeks, but then will have to stay in Cleveland indefinitely for checkups. Her father, who works two jobs, will visit on weekends.

Becoming a vet is no longer an option. Even with a full recovery, doctors have stressed that Alicia should never get another pet due to microorganisms they carry.

Prior to the transplant, Alicia decided she would wait to make any decisions on her future.

“She has had put her life on hold,” her mother said. “Because her body was in such respiratory distress it could take a long time for her to come out of this. We don’t know how fast she is going to bounce back. It is going to be up to her own body.”

BY THE NUMBERS

104: Patients who had lung transplants at Cleveland Clinic in 2012
56: Patients who had double-lung transplants at Cleveland Clinic in 2012

DOUBLE-LUNG TRANSPLANT SURVIVAL RATE

82.6 percent: One year
64.8 percent: Three years
50.3 percent: Five years

Source: United Network for Organ Sharing

Father, Jim Lang, offers way to help family

1. Become an organ and tissue donor at donatelife.net
2. Make a tax deductible donation to NFT Ohio Transplant Fund at transplants.org
3. Walk with Alicia’s team at The Shamrock Shuffle at The Square @ Union Centre on Saturday morning, March 9, 2013. Register at theshamrockshuffle.com using team name – Alicia Lang (NFT Ohio Transplant Fund)
4. Bring your aluminum cans to Lakota West High School the first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon.

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia's Lungs, Cystic Fibrosis, fundraiser, Jim Lang, Lakota West, Mary Kay Lang, Nick Lang

Alicia Lang was your typical teenager who loved to play tennis. She played for her eighth grade team, tried out for the freshman team at Lakota West and even named her dog Maria after tennis star Maria Sharapova.

Lang, who is fighting cystic fibrosis, made only two hospital trips as an eighth grader. However, as a freshman in high school, the oxygen level in her lungs started falling. She was in the hospital constantly and eventually doctors told her, “we have done everything we can do; the next step is the (double-lung) transplant.”

Now, Lang, who hasn’t picked up a tennis racket in about a year, has lungs that function at only 30 percent of the normal rate.

Due to her condition, doctors told her that she couldn’t pursue her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Moments after being told she couldn’t be a vet tech, her dog, Maria, passed away.

Cystic fibrosis was also limiting her time in school. She did, however, graduate from Lakota West in 2010, but could only go to two or three classes a day as a senior. The rest of her work was done online.

Alicia’s father, Jim, would like to see his daughter attend college, but that is on hold for right now as the family hopes to get the donated lungs this year.

Currently, she is listed for a double-lung transplant at Loyola in Chicago and at the Cleveland Clinic. The transplant could take place this summer, but could be scheduled for a later date depending on when donated lungs become available. (more…)

Posted in: Events, News, Recreational events, School events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia's Lungs, Cystic Fibrosis, fundraiser, Jim Lang, Lakota West, Mary Kay Lang, Nick Lang