Grateful for every breath
CHRIS MAY just wanted to breathe again.
Rewind to 1983, and Chris was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in his spleen. The disease went dormant for almost 20 years, but it came back with a vengeance in his lungs. Tiny collections of inflammatory cells were growing in Chris’ lungs and causing scar tissue. Chris had seven bouts of pneumonia in a two-year period, his lung function dropped to 36 percent, and he was connected to an oxygen tank every minute of every day. He was in desperate need of a double lung transplant. “It was a struggle to get through every day. Every moment was difficult,” Chris said.
Chris was unable to walk and talk at the same time, and he could not speak an entire sentence without taking breaths between each word. His skin was extremely pale, almost ghostly. Normal, everyday activities were far from easy. “When I did laundry, I had to carry it up two flights of stairs. I had to put the laundry basket down on every single step. I couldn’t carry it all the way up because I couldn’t breathe and move at the same time, even on oxygen, and I had to try to conserve my energy,” he said.
He became too weak to sing at church, so he would mouth the words instead. He could not laugh without experiencing a coughing fit, and yawning became impossible. “I would start yawning, but I had very little space in my lungs, and they wouldn’t expand, so the yawn would just stop,” Chris said.
Because he was too sick to work, Chris took on his most important role—a stay-at-home dad to his three daughters, Emily, Caitlin, and Lauren. Though he loved spending more time with them, he was frustrated that he could not be very active. “I couldn’t throw the softball back and forth with Emily for more than five minutes, and I couldn’t play soccer with Cait and Lauren for more than five minutes. When I reached that five-minute mark, I had to go lie down and take a nap for a few hours just to recuperate after that little bit of activity,” he said. “It was really hard on me and on them.”
But everything changed with one phone call. After almost three years on the waiting list, Chris was going to receive a double lung transplant! “I had a lot of emotions—anxiety, extreme happiness, elation, and I was scared out of my mind,” he said.
On February 16, 2009, after 18 hours of surgery, Chris took his first breath with his new lungs. “I took a deep breath, and I could feel my new lungs expand. It was the most incredible feeling,” he said.
Chris’ first deep yawn “felt so good,” and he was able to laugh without coughing and sing loudly without being short of breath.
Chris was determined to participate in the Donate Life Transplant Games of America, an Olympic-style competition for transplant recipients. And he achieved that goal. Chris has competed in the Donate Life Transplant Games of America, earning four medals. His best showing was at the 2014 Transplant Games, which was fitting because they were held in Houston, Texas. “All I know about my donor is that they were from Texas, so being there was real. Part of me was back home,” he said.
Chris continues to be active at home too, and his now-grown-up daughters get to enjoy time with their healthy father. He is also raising his son, Noah, who was born in 2014. “My donor gave me the chance to be a father again,” Chris said. “To be able to hold my son makes me so overwhelmed with joy.”
The father of four takes care of the gift he was given, so his health allows him to witness milestones. Chris was able to watch all three of his daughters graduate from high school and Emily graduate from college. One huge milestone that Chris has dreamt about for as long as he can remember became a reality in 2020 when he walked Emily down the aisle. “Before Emily and I walked down the aisle, we hugged and she said, ‘You made it, Dad. You made it!’ I had to ask her if she was wearing tear-proof mascara because we were both crying happy tears,” Chris said. “I felt so much relief, joy, and gratefulness that I was able to be there and experience that. It was a dream come true.”
Every day, Chris is thankful for his gift of life. “Doctors said I had between two weeks and two months to live, so without my organ donor and my donor family, I wouldn’t be here to see all of these incredible things,” he said. “I have had a blessed life. Every day has been a miracle. I can’t say enough how grateful I am to be able to live and breathe again.”
Chris and his family volunteer for Life Connection of Ohio, the non-profit organization that serves families and saves lives through organ donation. To learn more about organ donation or to register as a donor, visit lifeconnection.org.
Kara Steele is Director of Community Services for Life Connection of Ohio.
