Kill Devil Hills resident Tricia Lawrenson, who has lived with cystic fibrosis since she was a baby, underwent successful third double-lung transplant overnight.
Her husband Nate got word this morning about 6:30 a.m. that the complicated and rare surgery was complete and successful.
The doctor told him her new lungs are amazing and working well. There were no complications during surgery. Lawrenson said Tricia will remain sedated and ventilated for the next 24-48 hours. Her team hopes to have her awake as early as tomorrow evening.
“I will share more details later. For now, thank you for your prayer throughout the night,” Nate Lawrenson said in a Facebook post. “Please continue praying for the donor’s family. The donor was a very young adult.”
Tricia Lawrenson, 37, who has been in Durham with her husband Nate since February preparing for the surgery, got a call Monday night that a pair of lungs might be available. Those turned out not to be compatible, but the hospital team said another pair might be a “go.” Lawrenson went into surgery around 8 p.m.
- Follow updates about Tricia here
The mom of two has already undergone two life-saving transplants, and had been told her second, in 2013, would be her last. But in the last few years, Duke University Hospital begun performing the rare surgery. Tricia, whose donor lungs were in rejection, was the hospital’s fifth third double-lung transplant recipient.
