Woman with cystic fibrosis feels ‘free’ following double-lung transplant

Violet Gomez received a call six days after she was placed on the transplant waiting list, and said she finally feels “free” thanks to her new lungs.

 (SWNS)

A 25-year-old woman who relied on oxygen 24/7 said she finally feels “free” after receiving a life-saving double-lung transplant. Violet Gomez, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just 11 months, had a daily regimen full of multiple pills and four 30-minute breathing exercise sessions.

“I couldn’t really life that much of a life before,” Gomez, of Palo Alto, Calif., told SWNS. “I would be in hospital every two weeks and then home and then back in hospital because I was getting infections very frequently.”

The genetic disease causes persistent lung infections and limits a patient’s ability to breathe. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, it can cause extensive lung damage, and eventually respiratory failure.

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Gomez said that despite her health issues, doctors did not consider her a good candidate for a transplant until March. She was finally added to the list, and six days later received a call about a donor match. She underwent surgery at Stanford Medical Center on April 12.

“Going into the surgery and being put under, I kept thinking, ‘Is this going to happen?’” Gomez said. “I remember waking up and being like, ‘Oh my gosh, this really happened.’ It was different. I could definitely feel that breathing was easier and I wasn’t coughing.”

Two days after the transplant, Gomez was able to stand up and walk. Her first steps were captured on a video.

“I can do things I haven’t been able to do in years and it has only been a few weeks, so the lungs aren’t even fully inflated yet,” she said. “It has been really life changing.”

Gomez, whose husband is a record sore vinyl buyer, is an aspiring fashion designer and now plans to go to school.

“Without this transplant I would have kept getting sicker and sicker and if I wasn’t able to have it, within the next couple of years I wouldn’t be alive,” she said. “My life will be a lot better now. I will be able to go and do things with my friends again and keep up with everybody.”