Richard Berry, who received a double-lung transplant at Penn Medicine in February 2011, shares his thoughts and experiences about his surgery.

Richard Berry, who received a double-lung transplant at Penn Medicine in February 2011, shares his thoughts and experiences about his surgery.

I received a great birthday present this year: a double-lung transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on February 11, 2011.

Every day, I am thankful to the donor’s family for giving me this second chance at life. I’m getting better and stronger each day, but like any long and rough path to recovery, there have been a few bumps in the road.

Since my surgery I have lost 47 pounds. I'm down to about 26 pills a day from the 35 pills per day with which I started. As of today, I’m breathing 97 to 100 percent room air without any supplemental oxygen. I’ve even joined a gym and go a few days a week to keep the weight off and build my muscles back up.

It’s amazing to be able to breathe without feeling exhausted. Before the surgery, I was using almost four liters of oxygen a day and could hardly walk. I had to quit working and I stopped going out. I went to a wedding once and had to leave the reception early because I ran out of oxygen and felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I panicked at the thought of not being able to breathe without the oxygen — it was so much a part of me.

Since my double-lung transplant at Penn, I no longer need the oxygen tanks to breathe. I don’t even have any oxygen machines in my home anymore. When I did my first lung capacity tests after the transplant I almost cried. It took so little effort.

Along with the physical aspects of my illness, I also had to deal with the emotional issues faced by many people who have transplant surgery. I think it was harder to find a friend when I was ill. The minute I told someone I had COPD or that I was having transplant surgery, I never heard from them again. That really hurt me.

Today, I tell everyone how great my experience was at Penn. I spent three months in and out of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, in the intensive care unit and rehabilitation center. I’m so grateful for every opportunity I have been given. Penn’s multidisciplinary approach to transplant means all departments interact with each other, working together as my care team.

I couldn't have done this without my friends and family to support me and my faith to get me through each day. And I can't say enough about my transplant doctors and the team at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania who provided excellent care and gave me my life back.

If someone were to ask me if I had to go through this again would I? My reply would be: "You bet your sweet bottom I would!"

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