01/21/2026
“The year is 2017. My wife, Robyne, had been very ill for many years with uncontrolled Type 1 diabetes and coronary artery disease and passed away in February 2017. My brother, who had a heart transplant in 2010, passed away in July of that same year. In October 2017, I had a hypoxia episode that put me in the hospital for a week, and I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema and COPD. So 2017 was not a great year for me and my family.
I was put on oxygen and was using 6 to 8 liters at rest and 12 to 15 liters with exertion. I was referred for a lung transplant evaluation and was told I was at end-stage lung disease and would need a bilateral lung transplant. I needed to reduce my weight, get my BMI down and get in as good shape as possible for the upcoming procedure. I was dieting, walking daily and still working full time. From January to October 2018, I lost 40 pounds and was being evaluated and monitored by the lung team. I underwent a variety of tests and procedures.
Part of being considered for lung transplant is having a support system or caregiver who will assist the patient in recovery. I had my two adult children, Michael and Kayla, and my mother-in-law, Deann, to show I had a solid support network. In October 2018, the board met to discuss my case, and I was denied for lung transplant because the risks were higher than the possibility of success. So now what? At first, I was devastated, but I believed God had a good reason.
I worked closely with my insurance company and we identified centers of excellence for lung transplantation where I had relatives living and could have the necessary support system in place. I applied to two programs and went through their lung transplant evaluation processes. I became very organized and created a medical binder system so I could carry results and images from prior procedures to help speed up evaluations and eliminate duplicate testing. My family supported me during this entire process. When I was going through one evaluation, I took two of my sisters who lived nearby as my support system and caregivers. Then the next week I would be in another city for evaluations with my mother-in-law there for the same purpose.
From October 2018 to February 2019 was a very hectic and chaotic time for me and my family. One week I would be in one state, the next week in another. Traveling with oxygen tanks and oxygen concentrators made the process even more challenging. The only way for me to get to these appointments was by car.
In February 2019, I received a letter from one program stating I was accepted for lung transplantation. What a relief. Finally, I felt like I had a second chance at life. That center had outstanding lung transplant results, a very high first-year success rate, performed fewer than 20 transplants per year, and the time on the waiting list averaged six to 18 months.
A few weeks later, I received a letter from the other program stating I was accepted to their lung transplant program as well. Now I had a choice to make. Having the opportunity and chance for life and how that made me feel was amazing. After consulting with my family and looking closely at both programs, I decided on the second center. I had several reasons for this.
First, my mother-in-law, Deann, also known as Memaw, lived close by and was available 24/7 for my recovery and support needs. Second, that center did more than 100 lung transplants annually and the expected time on the wait list was shorter.
On April 3, 2019, I arrived and was placed on the transplant wait list. On April 15, I got a call at 6:30 a.m. telling me they had found the perfect set of lungs for me and to report to the hospital. I remember praying and thanking Jesus for my answered prayers and then waking my mother-in-law and telling her it was game time. My excitement and fear were extremely high, and the day of prep for surgery took the entire day. The actual surgery took place at midnight on April 16 and lasted six to eight hours.
I don’t remember a lot of the details, but for the first four to five days after surgery I was doing pretty well. Then issues started to happen. My blood pressure was going through the roof, and eventually I was put in an induced coma and had to have a tracheostomy for my breathing. I was in the hospital until the end of June and was finally able to go to my mother-in-law’s house. In July, my numbers dropped and I had to be readmitted to the hospital for another 12 days.
I remained there until January 2020 and was then allowed to go back home. I traveled back and forth for follow-up care from 2020 to 2022. In 2023, I was able to transfer my follow-up care closer to home. I still stay in touch with my lung team and joined a heart and lung support group that meets monthly.
I did connect with my donor’s mother and we stay in touch from time to time. God works in amazing ways and I am thankful for every day I have because of my donor’s selfless act.”
—David P.
