United woman’s wait ends for double-lung transplant

TribLive | PJ Panian


Karen Newill of United stands by the perennial purple phlox which grow outside her home in United. Newill, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, underwent a double lung transplant procedure on June 25. She was discharged July 5 from UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh. Photo A.J. Panian | The Mt. Pleasant Journal
With each new day, Karen Newill said she discovers a new way that her life has become better than it was before.

A double-lung transplant will do that, said Newill, a 36-year-old resident of United in Mt. Pleasant Township who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 13.

“For 10 years-plus, all I did was cough,” she said.

Since undergoing the procedure on June 25, Newill's cough has all but vanished, her face is flush with healthy color and her voice and laugh are both much louder and brighter, she said.

But the happiest moment so far for Newill came with her freshly rediscovered ability to yawn, she said.

“I was laying in bed the other night and it happened,” Newill said. “I couldn't believe it ... I was shocked. I was in disbelief. To take a breath that deep in to be able to yawn, to actually do it ... I don't even remember being able to do that.”

Roughly one year ago, Newill was placed on the transplant list by physicians at UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh.

While her wait for a donor drew out far past what doctors initially forecasted, Newill said time started to fly around 4 p.m. on that fateful date last month.
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