Breathing Again: 23 Years Old Woman’s Miracle from the Oxygen Cylinder

At the age of 23, this girl became a part of a story that no one would like to be a part of. One year back she was full of life and energy but today, she finds it hard to even take a step out of her house as she needs an oxygen cylinder to survive. Her lungs had given up on her and she was diagnosed with a chronic lung disease called Bilateral Cystic Bronchiectasis. The young lady was recommended for a lung transplant as her condition had deteriorated drastically over the last year. “She was referred to me by my colleague Dr. Senthil. I have handled some of the most challenging heart and lung transplants in the country. This patient was a tough case as she was very young and energetic and for someone like her, the lungs are supposed to last for a really long time. So we didn’t have much time to waste,” says Dr. Srinath Vijayasekharan, a renowned heart and lung transplant surgeon who has handled some of the most difficult heart and lung transplant surgeries in his career. The young lady’s journey towards a lung transplant was a short one as the entire team pulled together to make sure that her transplant happens smoothly. Dr. Srinath & Dr. Senthil managed to get her a donor’s lungs and perform a bilateral lung transplant on the young lady. Today, the young lady is breathing freely without the help of any oxygen cylinder. Dr. Srinath says, “From oxygen tubes to walking freely – this young lady’s journey from diagnosis to transplant was indeed heart-wrenching for us at Manipal Hospital and Transplant Society but we are happy that we could give her a new lease of life through a transplant.” And today, she walks free and she is determined to make the best out of her life – one breath at a time!