Sue- Lung Recipient

My name is Sue Melton Jenkins.  I was 62 years old when I decided to try to breath and live. I was diagnosed with COPD. My lung specialist told me that all she could do for me was wash out my lungs from time to time.  I was in and out of the hospital a lot for about 15 years.  My family doctor eventually explained to my daughter that I would need to be sent home on hospice.

I had been wearing oxygen continuously for most of those years.  I wanted to go to college and had to drive one hour one way which was very difficult with a portable oxygen tank.  I am a fighter and don’t give up easily.  I fought very hard to stay as healthy as possible.  I went through lung rehab therapies during those years.

After my family physician explained to me that nothing else could be done and hospice was my only option, I became more determined.  I thought it through and then made the decision I wasn’t giving up yet.  I called my insurance company to see if they could direct me toward a transplant facility.  They gave me a list of facilities they would cover and that’s where my journey began.

At this time, I am oxygen free and can walk through my house and drive without becoming short of breath or carrying an oxygen tank.  Organ donation is absolutely the most selfless thing a person can do.  I encourage everyone to become an organ donor.  The family of the person I got my lungs from are amazing people for allowing their loved one to save my life.  It is a deb I can never repay, but me and my family are beyond grateful.  May god bless each of them.   I now can enjoy my daughter, grandson, and husband and live life to the fullest.

I would life for all to consider organ donation.  It’s a person’s best opportunity to give back and change a life of not only the person receiving an organ, but for their family as well.