Chelsey McNeil: Making Her Donor Proud
Chelsey McNeil was born with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disorder that impacts the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. At the early age of four years old McNeil was diagnosed with this disorder and she was able to manage the responsibility of cystic fibrosis up until her early 20s. McNeil had finished college, was married to her high school sweetheart, and recently had purchased a home; the pressure of her disease only began to further impact her lifestyle. Not long after, she unfortunately had picked up some viruses, and even contracted pneumothorax. Pneumothorax is a condition which happens when there is an air leak in the space of lungs and the wall of the chest. At 27 years old McNeil faced the challenges of anemic thorax, and while the right lung healed, she was left hospitalized for four months until her left lung would have healed. McNeil was unfortunately faced with the worst as her doctors could not help her other than putting her on supplemental oxygen and hoping for the best. For two years, she was stuck with relying on supplemental oxygen as her lungs worsened, so she got a lung assessment done. The doctors had told her to consider a lung transplant as the circumstances were not improving.
Late in the year of 2016, McNeil was not even on the list for a transplant. The following year, on December 14, 2017, she would face one of her biggest battles so far. McNeil was unable to breathe and was rushed from one hospital to another and immediately placed on an ECMO machine and ventilator due to high levels of CO2 poisoning. This horrible spiral left her in a comatose state and as a result she was instantly put on a transplant list and was forced to wait three weeks to receive the transplant. January 5, 2018: McNeil successfully received a double lung transplant after a 10 hour surgery. After one battle succeeded, many followed as she had to relearn how to speak, walk, eat, lift her head, use her hands, and even breathe. Re-learning all of these daily functions kept her hospitalized and recovering for the following two years, during which she typically spent 3-6 months hospitalized followed by at-home rehabilitation.
At this vulnerable, confusing point, McNeil had a friend that constantly reassured her as she shared the same experience. McNeil shares one of these reassuring phrases her friend told her when she said, "Don’t worry, you will get there. It takes time, but in the end it will be worth it”. In an attempt to find those similar, McNeil sought out a sense of community through social media groups full of those that received transplants, organ donors, and others battling cystic fibrosis. This feeling of loneliness was dissolved by the vast community that exists, working to help others not feel alone and spread awareness. Her connection with her organ donors —exchanging letters— inspired McNeil to make her donor proud.
McNeil works to spread awareness at schools, fundraisers, and hospitals by sharing her story, as well as spending her birthday expressing her gratitude by giving back. Additionally, she shares that although her lungs were damaged, she always wanted to save lives, as she signed up as an organ donor and not let her disease discourage her. She tells her story to encourage and dispel myths about organ donation and to allay the fears of transplant recipients. Although it was a confusing period of time full of obstacles, McNeil is so happy to have been given the gift of life thanks to a donor.