LUNG ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA Lung Association relies on volunteer power
By Todd Lewys I n 1998, Dennis was given five years to live. He was suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, a thick - ening of the tissue around and between the alveoli (or air sacs) in the lungs. Somehow, he managed to beat the odds until 2011, when his overtaxed lungs finally needed to be replaced. “I got my lung transplant on Easter weekend of 2011,” he recalls. “I was quite close to dying, so the timing couldn’t have been better.”
Although the transplant itself was a suc- cess, he did experience some non-lung-re- lated complications for about six to nine months after the transplant. Dennis says that’s where the support of the Lung Association of Manitoba played a central role in his recovery.
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They were very helpful after the transplant — they provided a lot of encouragement and gave me hope.” — Dennis Woodford, lung transplant support group member
“They were very helpful after the transplant — they provided a lot of encouragement and gave me hope,” he says. “The staff there was very helpful, and I received much-needed encourage- ment from those who had previously gone through transplants themselves.”
Kirsten Davidson, senior manager of fund development, and Dennis Woodford, member of the lung transplant support group of the Lung Association of Manitoba. Photo by Darcy Finley
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Manitoba
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