Sara Kominsky was born with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease that can cause extreme fatigue, chronic coughing, lung infections, and trouble breathing. Since she was a child, she faced difficulties common to people with CF but she described herself as “reasonably healthy” until she was in her early 40s. “At that point,” said Kominsky, “my lungs declined, and I couldn't do what I wanted to do.” Her doctors told her that she needed lung transplant surgery, and quickly. As an athlete, fiction writer, avid traveler, and parent, she had countless goals for the future and a fierce determination to reach them. Today, after not one -- but two -- double lung transplant surgeries at Duke Health, she is competing in endurance events, writing fiction, making travel plans, and enjoying every minute of her new life.

Kominsky chose Duke for both lung transplant surgeries in part because of our shorter wait times and success rates. The median wait time on our lung transplant list is about 15 days, compared with 82 days nationwide. Our aggressive and innovative organ-recovery efforts enable us to procure and successfully match more viable organs with more people -- like Kominsky -- who desperately need them. Learn more: https://www.dukehealth.org/treatments...

0:00 Intro
1:09 Choosing Lung Transplant
1:37 Choosing Duke
1:56 Waiting for Transplant
2:28 Breathing After Lung Transplant
2:52 What is Life Like After Lung Transplant?
3:27 Transplant Disease
3:57 The Duke Transplant Team
4:16 Looking Forward