(Gray News) - A 26-year-old woman is recovering after having a rare third double lung transplant.
Taylor Stephenson was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was only 9 months old.
Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body, according to cff.org. She was put on medication and had breathing treatments every day.
By the time she was 16, she noticed that she was experiencing complications with her lungs. In 2015, she received her first double lung transplant. Eventually, four years later, she realized something was wrong.
(Credit: Duke Health)
(Duke Health)“On the Fourth of July, I went and laid on my grandma’s bed and I was just like I feel weird like shortness of breath and this isn’t normal,” she said.
She immediately went to the hospital and it was evident that her body rejected the second pair of lungs. Stephenson’s doctor said that she needed new lungs.
“I didn’t even think thirds were an option,” she said.
She called several hospitals and wrote letters but everyone told her no because most facilities haven’t performed a third double lung transplant. At one point, she became discouraged.
“I’m 26 years old and this should not be like this. I’m on 15 liters of oxygen trying to walk a track with a walker,” Stephenson said.
However, Dr. John M. Reynolds, Transplant Pulmonologist at Duke Health took a chance and she was eventually accepted into its transplant program.
“For Taylor to have gone through multiple surgeries, the medicines that a lung transplant patient is required to take, these things can add up and patients can have significant issues and other medical problems over time,” said Dr. Reynolds.
Stephenson moved from Oklahoma to North Carolina to begin the process all over again. She successfully underwent the transplant surgery in January. Since then, she has already made amazing progress.
Her nurses said it would be a great sign of progress if she could sit in a chair. Stephenson surprised them and walked 50 feet that day, and over 200 feet the next.
She had her first biopsy on Valentine’s Day and the results came back rejection-free.
“I’m so blessed,” she said. “It’s been the smoothest transplant. This whole experience has been crazy, and amazing.”
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