Transplant woman takes first breaths
A SCOTTISH woman has taken her first deep breaths in more than a decade – after she had a double lung transplant.
Paula Massie, 40, was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 2009. It left her so breathless she could barely walk through her home.
Her heart grew to four times the average size due to the strain her blocked lungs were putting on her body. She was finally put on the waiting list for new lungs in 2018.
After a year, she got a call at 2am to say it was time to operate and, hours later, she was given the organs from an anonymous donor.
She had her operation in early May 2019.
A video taken in hospital six weeks after the transplant shows Ms Massie getting to her feet and taking her first unassisted breaths after being discharged from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Ms Massie, from
Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, who also has a 12-year-old foster son called Ollie, said: “I only have my donor to thank for changing my life completely. I want to make the most of every second of my life in their memory.”
Ms Massie found out her condition, which causes high pressure in the blood vessels connecting the heart and lungs, was the result of a gene mutation which was discovered by a doctor three years ago.
“It is all worth it as I am able to go out for a walk for enjoyment now and am able to do those things I’ve desperately wanted to do but couldn’t,” she said about her operation.
Ms Massie was speaking ahead of organ donation week on September 7-13. “My main aim is to raise awareness about the topic of transplants and donors,” she said.