Henry Ford Health performs Michigan’s first COVID-linked double lung transplant

DETROIT – Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital performed the first double lung transplant in Michigan, linked to COVID-19.

“Things were very foggy. I was getting sick so fast, ”said Jackie Dennis.

Special education teacher Jackie Dennis was diagnosed with COVID in November last year.

“She went there with typical symptoms of COVID. She had a cough, fever, shortness of breath, headache and nausea, ”said Dr. Lisa Allenspach.

Dennis was also pregnant. She gave birth to a girl she called Mia Rose. After delivery, COVID quickly took control of his lungs and body and made it difficult for him to breathe.

The doctors put Dennis on a breathing machine.

“ECMO is a heart-lung machine that we use to deliver oxygen to the blood in the hope that the lung will recover after a serious infection like COVID,” said Dr. Victor Coba.

Doctors said Dennis needed a double lung transplant. She underwent a transplant at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit on January 16. That was just seven weeks after his daughter was born.

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“I feel incredible. I feel very normal. I’m gaining strength, walking around. Things are a little difficult, perhaps taking many steps up and down the stairs. In general, I can do everything I want, in addition to catching Mia, ”said Dennis.

Dennis said she is grateful for friends and family. She wants to thank the family that lost a loved one to save her life.

“If they wanted to meet us, or hear anything about us. I would be totally open to that. I would tell them that I’m sorry. But I am very grateful, ”said Dennis.

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