Lung Health | Minnesota Medical Foundation

U lung transplant recipients climb 50 flights

2013-03-25T14:41:49Z

Three U of M lung transplant recipients climbed 50 flights of stairs at the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis as part of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Climb for a Cure.

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Because with your support, anything is possible.

Grateful to the U

2013-03-11T17:26:25Z

Veteran Twin Cities’ TV reporter, ARDS survivor becomes U lung research ambassador

Boisterous, spirited, gregarious—all words that describe Marcia Fluer, known to many for her 18-plus years as a Twin Cities’ TV-news political reporter. Quiet she is not—playfully smiling as she lists “meddling” as a favorite pastime. But Fluer was temporarily silenced in 2001 following a life-threatening bout with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

ARDS landed Fluer in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview (UMMC), with respiratory failure requiring a mechanical ventilator and a drug-induced coma for 18 days. When she finally returned home, she couldn’t type or write; she was using a walker and had an oxygen tank in tow. But thanks to the care she received at the U, Fluer made a full recovery—and hasn’t lost her inquisitive nature.

“For a news person, the most maddening thing was that I had no idea what was going on for a month,” she recounts.

Today, Fluer, 75, is using her talents to raise awareness about the lifesaving work being done at the U and helping to fundraise for lung health research.

Marcia’s story

It was in late November of 2001 when ARDS struck. Fluer was out to dinner and began shivering. She went home and took a shower. “That’s the last thing I remember,” she says.

Fluer was rushed to UMMC and diagnosed with “double pneumonia.” Both of her lungs were failing and then after one lung collapsed, hallucinations set in. Fluer was diagnosed with ARDS.

Fluer’s doctor, David Ingbar, M.D., director of the U’s Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep (PACCS) Medicine division, says that ARDS develops when the lungs become inflamed and fill with fluid. “It’s a very rapid failure of the lungs that happens over a 24-hour period,” he says, adding that it’s commonly tied to other health issues. “It really is a devastating, disease.”

After she came out of the drug-induced coma, Fluer’s doctors gave her oxygen to help her lungs heal. “I came out of it weak as a kitten,” she says.

Improving ARDS outcomes

ARDS is not commonly known to the public, but affects almost 200,000 adults each year in the U.S. Currently, the mortality rate for people with ARDS sits at 40 percent, and some survivors suffer long-term lung scarring. But physicians and researchers are working to improve outcomes.

Ingbar has been studying lung repair after ARDS for more than 20 years. Based on his lab studies, he currently is preparing an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to test the use of a thyroid hormone called Triiodothyronine (also known as T3) to treat patients with ARDS. The drug clears lung fluid by stimulating the lining of the lungs to absorb the fluid back into the bloodstream. The initial clinical studies will be done at UMMC and at Essentia Health in Duluth with Timothy Rich, M.D., assistant professor of medicine.

In addition to Ingbar’s research, Maneesh Bhargava, M.D., an assistant professor in the U’s PACCS division, is studying how damaged lungs heal and is identifying markers to assess the degree of lung damage.

“We’re identifying the key proteins involved in lung repair to speed healing,” he says. As part of this work, he’s collecting biosamples from ARDS patients and storing the samples in the U’s O’Brien Biobank for Lung Research, funded by the Alice M. O’Brien Foundation. Bhargava is using those samples to identify proteins in patients with ARDS that predict the survival of some patients and that are important in the repair process.

In related research, Craig Weinert, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor in the same division, is an expert in the long term psychological effects of ARDS and other conditions requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. He is conducting intervention studies aimed at helping ARDS patients during their time in the ICU and afterwards. For example, have patients listen to self-selected music through headphones to reduce anxiety or give patients a device that allows them to safely self-administer sedative medications through an IV pump.

To improve post-ICU recovery, Weinert has also completed a clinical trial to determine if it is feasible to administer anti-depressant medications to ARDS patients very early in their illness to prevent the onset of post-ICU depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that might not appear until weeks later.

‘The best’

Fluer says that her experience as a patient at the University, coupled with the U’s leading ARDS research, inspires her support of the U’s lung health program.

Grateful to have this medical resource close to home, Fluer now serves on the University of Minnesota Foundation’s Lung Advisory Committee, helping to raise awareness and philanthropic support for lung health initiatives at the U.

“We’ve got to raise money,” she says. “These docs ought to know that there is somebody cheering for them. They know the latest. That’s why patients with ARDS are safer here than anywhere else.”

Encouraging support for lung health at the University comes down to one simple fact: “I don’t think you can do any better,” she says. “University of Minnesota doctors are the best.”

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

IRA charitable giving opportunity extended for 2013

2013-03-07T15:38:41Z

Thanks to recent legislation, you can again benefit from a popular tax-advantaged giving option.

Make a gift of up to $100,000 directly from your IRA to the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF) to support medicine and health research before December 31, 2013, and you can avoid paying federal income tax on the amount of your gift.

These rules apply to IRA charitable rollovers in 2013:

Only IRAs are eligible (other types of retirement accounts are not).
You must be age 701/2 or older at the time you make your gift.
Your gift must come directly from the IRA custodian to UMF.
You can give up to $100,000 from your IRA to one or more qualified charities in 2013 (and if your spouse has a separate IRA, you can each give up to $100,000).
Your gift must be outright; it cannot be used to fund a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust.

While you will not be able to claim a charitable deduction for your IRA rollover gift, you also won’t owe federal income tax on any amount up to $100,000 that you distribute to a qualified charity.

To learn more about supporting University of Minnesota research, education, and care through the IRA charitable rollover option or through another type of planned gift, contact our gift planning team via email or at 612-624-3333 or 800-775-2187.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

U lung center to get new home, expand clinical care

2012-12-05T18:23:41Z

Physician-researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Lung Science and Health (CLSH) have a lot to be excited about in the New Year. Most notably, the center will be getting a new clinic and an expanded mission that emphasizes clinical care as well as research.

The center’s newly remodeled clinic space will open in January 2013 on the third floor (ground level) of the Phillips-Wangensteen Building on the University of Minnesota campus—moving up one floor from its old space, which it shared with other clinics.

The new clinic will not only offer renovated exam rooms, but it also will be dedicated to lung health exclusively and be more accessible for patients.

“[The clinic’s] focus is specifically on lung disease and lung health,” says Jordan Dunitz, M.D., director of the new clinic and the University’s Cystic Fibrosis Center. The goal, he says, is to offer better patient education and greater access to more personalized, innovative care.

A “Wall of Discovery” display will be installed in the new clinic shortly after the January opening to showcase the University’s ability to turn research discoveries into treatments for patients. “The center is more than just the clinic,” says CLSH director Marshall Hertz, M.D., emphasizing the the center’s dual research and care missions.

“We’re all trying to improve the care for patients through research,” says Dunitz, who hopes that greater public awareness of the center’s work will lead to more philanthropic support of lung research.

“We’re hoping that philanthropy will play a bigger role [in research] going forward,” he says. “The way to get research off the ground is with philanthropy.”

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Leave a legacy of hope

2012-09-10T16:09:06Z

Your annual gifts supporting research at the University of Minnesota have a real impact on treatments for patients living with disease. Did you know that you can leave a legacy that will make a difference after your lifetime?

When you include a gift in your estate plans to support the University’s research, you provide critical future funding to internationally renowned scientists working to solve the complexities of many types of diseases.

Ways to give

You can support a research fund or project through the Minnesota Medical Foundation by:

Leaving a specified dollar amount or a percentage of your estate in your will or living trust.
Naming the Minnesota Medical Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan.
Naming the Minnesota Medical Foundation as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

Benefits

Gifts from your estate will not affect your current income.
You maintain control of your assets and can modify your plans if your circumstances change.
There may also be significant tax benefits for your estate and your heirs.

Have you already included a gift to us in your estate or financial plans? Please let us know, so that we can ensure your future gift is directed to the programs you wish to support. You can share your gift intentions with us and still remain anonymous.

To discuss the many ways that you can leave a legacy, please contact our gift planning team at 612-625-1440, 800-922-1663, or giftplanning@mmf.umn.edu.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Turning loss into hope

2012-08-27T18:51:13Z

A family creates a foundation to advance IPF research

Regular attendees of the St. Francis, Minn., Pioneer Days—complete with amusement park rides, a kids’ tractor pull, and fireworks—came to know the voice of Jim Smith, a parade emcee for many years.

In fact, Smith was well known for his community involvement, which extended far beyond his vocal talents.

One of the founders of a community bank, he also participated in the Blaine/Ham Lake Rotary and Lions clubs, was a member of the Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce, partnered with Independent School District 15, volunteered at his church, and coached youth sports teams.

Jim was diagnosed with a deadly chronic lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in April 2008. After his diagnosis, Jim’s family sought the best treatment possible—choosing the University of Minnesota. But the disease progressed faster than expected, and Jim died just two months later.

Following his death, the community rallied around Smith’s wife, Judy, and children, Stephanie and Mark, and their efforts to do something special in his honor. “We decided to start a foundation to remember him,” says Judy, “and to continue his commitment to the community and to making a difference in people’s lives.”

A tie to the U

This fall, the Jim Smith Foundation is holding its fourth-annual golf tournament on September 13 at The Refuge Golf Club in Oak Grove, Minn. The proceeds of which will benefit pulmonary fibrosis research, education, and patient care at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Lung Science and Health.

“The University was always near and dear to my dad,” says Mark Smith, a U of M alumnus, adding that his father had fond memories of the University and loved to attend Gopher football games.

Additionally, he says, his father had planned to begin treatment for his IPF at the University.

“We turned to the University because we were aware of the great work being done there,” Judy says. “[The doctors] were so helpful at answering all of our questions and suggesting how to improve his quality of life.”

Adds Mark: “Our family’s first impression of the care there was absolutely phenomenal.”

Keeping it local

This year, the family’s foundation has become an official nonprofit, enabling all of the golf tourney’s proceeds to go directly to the University. Previously, the funds were sent to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation in Chicago.

“We want to be sure to directly benefit what the University is doing and to keep it local,” Mark says.

Today, both he and his mother serve on the University’s Lung Advisory Committee, which supports the U’s search for a treatment and, ultimately, a cure for IPF and other lung conditions. They both have also made private gifts to support the University’s work.

“Supporting and spreading awareness of the outstanding pulmonary fibrosis research, education, and patient care at the University is one way we carry out our mission,” says Judy.

“We hope that one day a treatment will be found to improve the quality of life for IPF patients and that, ultimately, there will be a cure, so other families will not suffer the early loss of a loved one,” she adds. “We do this in Jim’s memory, knowing he would be proud.”

By Karin Miller

For more information about supporting IPF research, contact Amanda Storm Schuster at 612-626-2475 or a.schuster@mmf.umn.edu.

Learn more

The 4th Annual Jim Smith Memorial Golf Tournament
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Refuge Golf Club in Oak Grove, Minn.
Contact Judy Smith at jrecsmith@hotmail.com or 763-753-3447.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Marketing in earnest

2012-06-07T18:07:38Z

U of M senior raises funds for cystic fibrosis research

University of Minnesota senior Nikolas Job wrapped up his academic year as a communications major and is beginning his third straight summer internship at a company he hopes to work for one day.

Hill-Rom, a medical technology firm, makes the chest-compression vest Job has used since childhood to manage his cystic fibrosis (CF). Not only has the company offered Job the chance to work in marketing, but it often sends him to speak to groups of physicians, nurses, and others about its products and his personal experience.

“When I graduate, I hope to get a job at Hill-Rom. They seem to like me,” he says modestly. What’s not to like? Job is not only affable and charming but a one-man fundraising powerhouse.

Six years ago, when Job was just 15 years old and played goalie for his Minnetonka High School hockey team, he and his father contacted artist Todd Miska to design two helmets — one for Job and one for a silent auction, raising $3,000 for CF research.

Since then the family has commissioned a new helmet design every year, raising about $50,000. It also hosted a golf tournament last summer that brought in $10,000, and the family plans to host another.

The funds raised through the Nikolas Job Foundation go to the University to support research and help CF families in need. “The U does remarkable research,” says Job. “The doctors work hard to find drugs to benefit everyone with CF.”

Job was diagnosed with CF at 6 months old and has received care at the Minnesota Cystic Fibrosis Center at the University ever since. “I always recommend that anyone with CF in Minnesota go to the U,” he says. “Everyone with CF should have doctors who care about them.”

On a recent trip to Costa Rica, Job saw firsthand that top-notch care isn’t available everywhere. He met a girl with CF who was nearly his age but looked about 12 and weighed less than 100 pounds. “Hopefully, the vests and medicines will help,” says Job, who represented Hill-Rom, distributing vests and $5 million worth of medicine.

Like many pediatric patients before him at the University, Job has transitioned to the U’s adult CF clinic. “The pediatric team does a great job of getting patients ready to make that leap,” says LyNette Rasmussen, his nurse practitioner. She adds that the two teams meet weekly to review patients, “so we’ve heard about these kids long before they come to the adult team, and that facilitates transition.”

Regarding Job, she says, “Nikolas is an energetic college student. I love seeing him — it’s exciting to keep track of where life is taking him.”

Next year, life will take Job to Denmark, where he’ll attend his father’s former college. Then, after one more year of college, he hopes to begin his marketing career in earnest. No doubt he’ll be making an impact on CF research wherever he lands.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Racing for a reason

2012-06-07T12:06:45Z

Organ donor and volunteer David Murphy is running his first marathon to raise awareness about lung disease research at the U

It’s 5:45 a.m. and attorney David Murphy, 40, is lacing his shoes before heading out of his St. Paul home for a run. This routine is part of a training regimen for Murphy’s numerous 2012 races, which will culminate in his first 26.2-miler—the Twin Cities Marathon—in October.

Murphy is running to bring attention to the work under way at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Lung Science and Health and to honor his late mother, Judy Murphy, who had battled idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) before receiving a lung transplant in 2001. IPF is an incurable lung disease that causes lung scarring, slowly reducing lung function to zero.

“Mom’s boundless spirit and courage inspire my work for the center,” writes Murphy in his blog, Courage of Your Lungs, where he reflects on his marathon training, volunteer efforts, and experience as an organ donor. “I am not running because I should. I am running because I can. Running and jumping and breathing and laughing are all gifts not to be squandered. That helps me get out of bed, helps me lace my shoes, and helps me to keep going.”

Back in 2001, when his mother’s prognosis was bleak, Murphy and his aunt were selected as the best matches to serve as donors for Judy’s living-lobe lung transplant at the University. Both donated a part of one of their lungs—giving Judy a second chance.

“After the transplant,” Murphy says, “Mom played golf, she went back to work, volunteered at the U, and started a nonprofit, Hope Chest News, to raise awareness of lung disease and lung health. She felt a lot of responsibility to keep going because she knew how lucky she was to get this second chance.”

In addition, Judy and her husband, John Murphy, pledged $1 million to establish an endowed professorship in gratitude for care provided by Marshall Hertz, M.D., a professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep in the Department of Medicine. “Mom and Dad grew to know what a special person [Dr. Hertz] is through Mom’s illness,” David Murphy says.

While after the transplant, Judy no longer battled IPF symptoms, she died from complications of pneumonia in 2005.

Now Murphy is following in his parents’ footsteps by making regular financial contributions to the U’s lung research and by serving as chair of the Minnesota Medical Foundation’s Lung Advisory Committee, which supports the University’s fundraising initiatives in lung health.

Murphy leads 10 volunteers and three doctors, who all have had their own experiences with lung disease or the center. Their goal is to spread the word about lung health and to raise $35 million to support lung-health initiatives.

“If you raise awareness and expose people to all the amazing breakthroughs in research at the center, support will come naturally,” Murphy says. “It’s hard not to be excited and amazed by what’s happening. There’s no better place than the U.”

By Karin Miller

Blogging for a cause

David Murphy will be writing about his marathon training, volunteer efforts, and reflections as an organ donor on his blog Courage of Your Lungs through October, when he’ll be running in the Twin Cities Marathon.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Breathing Easier

2012-05-25T18:37:11Z

Summer 2012

Racing for a reason

Organ donor and volunteer David Murphy is running his first marathon to raise awareness about lung disease research at the U

Find a planned giving option that works for you

Try out our new online gift illustrator to see the available giving opportunities and benefits.

Improving lung health abroad

U Medical School, public health students study mesothelioma in India

Learning became a global endeavor for Lan Luu and Emily Olson, both University of Minnesota students in the Medical School and School of Public Health, when they traveled to India last August for a research study on asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer.

A gift to the U, lifetime income for you

If you would like to support groundbreaking research at the University of Minnesota and also receive steady income for life, a charitable gift annuity may be right for you. Through a simple contract, you agree to make a donation of cash, stocks, or other assets to the Minnesota Medical Foundation. In return, we agree to pay you a fixed amount each year for the rest of your life.

U lung scientists recognized with national awards

Another member of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Lung Science and Health (CLSH) has received a major national award from the American Thoracic Society (ATS). In May, John Marini, M.D., a professor of medicine in the University’s Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine division, received the ATS Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes those “who have made outstanding contributions to fighting respiratory disease through research, education, patient care and advocacy.”

Philanthropy propels new lung cancer research

Donor-funded research advances work of U lung cancer team

Every day in his University of Minnesota lab, researcher Joel McCauley, M.D., confronts a stubborn and challenging adversary -- lung cancer -- but he never labors in isolation. He works regularly with colleagues across the University to find more effective treatments.

CF patient gets a lifesaving lung transplant from U’s award-winning program

For Jamie Hammer, 31, cystic fibrosis (CF) has always been a major part of her daily life. Diagnosed when she was 5 months old, Jamie has always lived with daily chest-pounding therapies, 50-pills-a-day regimens, daily IV treatments, and a host of related complications. But this past winter, all that changed—for the better.

Making the most of a second chance

U lung transplant recipient becomes a patient advocate, makes a planned gift

While skiing in Breckenridge, Colorado in, 1991, Ed Schuck found himself gasping for air, and it wasn’t just the altitude. Schuck, who was then age 51, was diagnosed with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (Alpha-1) a genetic disease that can cause lung failure and liver disease. Alpha-1 is caused by decreased or abnormal production of a protein called alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT), which is produced by the liver and protects the lungs from inflammation and inhaled irritants.

U hospitals rank among nation's best

The University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview and University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital are again among an elite group of hospitals named the nation’s best by *U.S. News & World Report*. The annual rankings are based in part on reputation, death rate, and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services.

Gratitude for decades of care

Family thanks U doctor for son’s care by supporting cystic fibrosis research

When Jason Swain was 18 months old, his parents noticed that he was not gaining weight and his sweat seemed salty. After several visits to the doctor, Jason’s family got the devastating diagnosis—Jason had cystic fibrosis. The year was 1972 and at that time children with cystic fibrosis (CF) were not expected to live to age 10.

After a double lung transplant at U of M, Liz Johnson runs half marathon

While sitting in the lobby of the Transplant Center at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in May 2010, Liz Johnson spots one of her doctors as he turns the corner to leave the clinic. She quickly turns to her father, Dick: "Dad, there goes Dr. Kempainen. Go see if you can catch him. I want to show him my medal." Around her neck hangs a participation medal that she had earned only a few days earlier for running a half marathon back home in Lincoln, Nebraska.

U awarded $8.6M to manufacture stem cell therapies

The University of Minnesota has been awarded an $8.6 million contract to help speed the development of novel stem cell- and immune cell-based therapies from the laboratory to clinical trials through the Production Assistance for Cellular Therapies (PACT) program.

U researchers work to improve lung transplant survival rates

Each year, surgeons in the University of Minnesota’s Center for Lung Science and Health (CLSH) perform 20 to 50 lung transplants on patients who have pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—all devastating illnesses for which transplants are often the only option.

About Breathing Easier

Breathing Easier is an online-only publication, published by the University of Minnesota Foundation. Reader comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact the editor directly at 612-624-8654 or rwhite@umn.edu.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Improving lung health abroad

2012-03-19T19:42:34Z

U Medical School, public health students study mesothelioma in India

“[Asbestos] is banned in developed countries. So many are shipping it to places like India, because there’s not a lot of regulation,” says Luu. “People are breathing in this material. If you’re exposed to asbestos, it can lead to a number of different lung diseases and increase your risk of getting mesothelioma.”

The research project, a joint effort of the Medical School, Center for Lung Science and Health, and the School of Public Health (SPH), aims to find ways to prevent lung disease, says Jeffrey Mandel, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor in the SPH’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences.

For their role in the study, Luu and Olson focused on investigating how India’s health care system works and how it handles exposure to asbestos, then the pair are recommending a framework for future research collaborations related to this project.

Learning while helping others

When they arrived in Mumbai, India, last August, Olson and Luu were teamed with doctors, lawyers, and human rights workers who were gathering medical data from workers who may have been exposed to asbestos.

Olson and Luu surveyed the medical data, including pulmonary tests and X-rays, then worked with demographers and economists to interpret what the collected data meant. The pair looked for data patterns and made suggestions for project improvement.

“We kept finding holes in the data that, if filled, would help make it stronger, such as getting occupational health histories,” says Luu, a second-year medical student who has a master’s degree in public health from the University. “Digging deep and asking the right questions can really make a difference,” added Olson.

Already a fourth-year medical student, Olson’s work on the project also served as an introduction to her SPH master’s program. “The project helped me not only see the importance of regulations, but the attention that society needs to pay to vulnerable populations and our ability to make a difference in their lives if we do pay attention,” she says.

Luu’s and Olson’s work was the first phase of this project. Next, faculty from India will be coming to the University of Minnesota to collaborate, says Mandel, who is also working to secure funding to train public health and medical students for work on future mesothelioma research in India. He is hoping to have this in place within the next year.

“The last phase of the project would involve getting support for doing more advanced work in India—the actual work of reaching the public,” he says.

Importance of philanthropic support

“This trip would not have been possible without scholarships,” says Olson, who along with Luu, received financial support from the University’s International Medical Education and Research Program (IMER), the Center for Lung Science and Health, and Mandel.

“But more support is needed,” adds Mandel.

“It is important to train clinical and public health students in India in the methods needed to address dust-related lung disease,” he says of the funding need. “They have little capacity to address these problems within India.”

“The scholarships were very helpful,” says Luu. “We were able to go there and focus on the project—not think, ‘How will we pay for this trip?’ Donor support gives students a unique opportunity to learn about a country unlike their own,” she adds. “I wouldn’t have been able to go on the trip without it.”

Career-shaping lessons

Though they were in India for only a few weeks, the students say they learned a great deal about public health challenges, and the experience will likely help to shape their careers.

“I feel more connected to the bigger issues that can affect a patient population,” says Olson. “It’s not just about the disease, but what factors led to the disease and how can we address those in the bigger social context.”

“I haven’t chosen a medical specialty yet, but I will take these lessons with me wherever I go,” she added. “I think it will help me be a more well-rounded physician and clinician.”

For Luu, the experience helped her connect with her passion. “I grew up in an underserved community in San Francisco, so I want to help. This is what I’m passionate about —what I feel connected to,” she says.

“I’ve learned a lot about law, how workers get compensated and about occupational health,” Luu adds. “Being in a community with a vulnerable population that needs help is pushing me more in that direction. This is where I can make a difference.”

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

A gift to the U, lifetime income for you

2012-03-13T13:30:01Z

In addition to providing future support for research and receiving lifetime fixed payments, a charitable gift annuity offers additional benefits

•Your gift is partially income tax-deductible.

• Your gift payments are partially income tax- free throughout your estimated life expectancy.

• Your payments are fixed—unaffected by economic ups and downs.

• The gift annuity can be for one or two people, so your spouse or another loved one can also receive payments for life.

• If you use appreciated stock to make your gift, you can eliminate capital gains tax on a portion of the gift; typically, you can spread the rest of the gain over your life expectancy.

To receive a personalized illustration of how a charitable gift annuity can work for you, contact the Minnesota Medical Foundation’s gift planning team at 612-625-1440, 800-922-1663, or giftplanning@mmf.umn.edu.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Antibiotic may reduce acute COPD attacks

2011-09-20T13:26:24Z

Good news for those who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — or COPD: A clinical trial involving more than 1,100 people has found that a common antibiotic called azithromycin can reduce the occurrence and severity of COPD exacerbations or flareups.

Professor John Connett, a University of Minnesota biostatistican, led the study. He said it’s especially good news because until now there has not been a good treatment for people who suffer from COPD. COPD refers to a group of chronic lung diseases that block airflow. These include bronchitis and emphysema.

“The azithromycin group had fewer exacerbations. They had them later in the year, on average. And they generally benefitted from this treatment,” Connett said. “It was a positive study. And it does have implications for treatment for COPD because there are not a lot of good treatments available right now. There are other treatments that will treat symptoms — make the person feel better, breathe a little bit better. This one actually prevents some illnesses.”

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

U lung scientists recognized with national awards

2011-09-14T18:38:19Z

Another member of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Lung Science and Health (CLSH) has received a major national award from the American Thoracic Society (ATS).

In May, John Marini, M.D., a professor of medicine in the University’s Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine division, received the ATS Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes those “who have made outstanding contributions to fighting respiratory disease through research, education, patient care and advocacy.”

That’s the third major ATS award received by a CLSH faculty member in the past four years.

Two years ago, Dennis Niewoehner, M.D., the center’s COPD program leader, received the ATS Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishment.

In 2007, ATS awarded Peter Bitterman, M.D., CLSH executive research director, the Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishment in recognition of his contributions to the prevention and treatment of lung disease.

“It is very rare to have this level of accomplishment at one University,” says the Center’s executive director, David Ingbar, M.D.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

U researchers advance crucial stem cell technology

2011-07-12T19:21:57Z

University of Minnesota researchers have developed a new method for creating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which can differentiate into many different types of the cells in the body and are used in medical research focused on diabetes, cancer, and many other diseases. This new process will dramatically speed up the creation of iPS cells and improve their quality, which could accelerate the treatment of many otherwise incurable diseases.

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Philanthropy propels new lung cancer research

2011-06-27T12:33:43Z

Donor-funded research advances work of U lung cancer team

Every day in his University of Minnesota lab, researcher Joel McCauley, M.D., confronts a stubborn and challenging adversary—lung cancer—but he never labors in isolation. He works regularly with colleagues across the University to find more effective treatments.

“Lung cancer is the [country’s] No. 1 cancer killer on an annual basis,” McCauley says. In the United States, nearly 160,000 people die of lung cancer each year. Current treatments, primarily surgery and chemotherapy, have not advanced in recent years. “They don’t do much to impact survival,” he says.

But, thanks to philanthropic support, McCauley and his colleagues are driven to change that.

Essential support

When Joyce Lammersen of St. Cloud, Minn., died from lung cancer in 2008, she left a $26,000 estate gift to the Minnesota Medical Foundation to support lung cancer research at the University’s Center for Lung Science and Health (CLSH). In turn, the Center directed those funds to help launch McCauley’s research in non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for 85 to 90 percent of lung cancer cases.

McCauley, a senior fellow in the University’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, will be joining the CLSH faculty this fall.

Philanthropic support is essential to getting new ideas off the ground before they are far enough along to compete for major federal funding, says thoracic surgeon Jonathan D’Cunha, M.D., Ph.D., one of McCauley’s research partners. “The support through this gift is going to pay huge dividends.”

A collaborative research approach

Together, McCauley and D’Cunha are investigating the use of targeted drugs on pathways in lung cancer cells. McCauley says of one of the compounds, “These are very specific. One such compound interferes with the cancer cells’ ability to make proteins, which they need to survive.”

McCauley and D’Cunha also are working together to develop a systematic approach to help doctors evaluate lung nodules found on X-rays and CAT scans—often the first indicator of lung cancer.

CLSH director Marshall Hertz, M.D., says that lung scans have greatly improved in the last 10 years. “We find way more spots than we used to,” he says, adding that once spots are found, doctors can learn more about the cancer through PET scans, biopsies, and ultrasounds. McCauley will play a major role in developing this program, which brings together pulmonologists, surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, and others. This team will also explore investigational opportunities to further advance this work, as nodule screening is expected to increase in popularity.

McCauley is also working with Peter Bitterman, M.D., a University professor, executive research director in the CLSH, and co-leader of the University’s Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Research Program in the Masonic Cancer Center (MCC). Bitterman works to understand how genetic changes cause cancer and tests novel compounds, synthesized at the University, that are designed to correct these genetic changes. “Cancers hijack a key step in the gene expression pathway. We’re developing molecular and pharmacological treatments to regain control,” he explains.

Their research is currently in the pre-clinical trial phase and includes a broad range of faculty from the Medical School, College of Pharmacy, and the College of Science and Engineering, as well as researchers at Mayo Clinic, New York University, McGill University in Canada, and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

Part of the University’s broader team

CLSH members work in collaboration with many other University scientists and physicians to achieve advances in lung cancer research and treatment, including members of the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center. Michael Maddaus, M.D., a professor and chief of the University’s Division of Thoracic and Foregut Surgery, is a driving force in lung cancer research. Other prominent researchers include Robert Kratzke, M.D., and Arkadiusz Dudek, M.D., Ph.D., medical oncologists performing clinical trials on treatments for solid tumors, and Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., who leads the MCC’s Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program. University scientist Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., in the Department of Psychiatry, is also internationally known for her research in tobacco and nicotine prevention and control.

“We have a serious vision,” says Hertz of the University’s team-focused efforts to combat lung cancer. But the success of new treatments comes down to the ability to explore novel ideas—which requires seed funding.

“All new ideas need modest amounts of money,” agrees Bitterman. “The biggest advantage is getting that jumpstart. It makes a huge difference.”

D’Cunha wins national teaching award

Jonathan D’Cunha, M.D., Ph.D., a University of Minnesota assistant professor and thoracic surgeon, received the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Surgical Education earlier this year. Presented to just four educators nationally, this prestigious award recognizes surgical educators who are considered by their peers and students to be “the best of the best.”

Special event

Herbert’s Hope—Sept. 10, 2011

Save the date for this lung cancer research gala, which will benefit the University of Minnesota’s Thoracic Oncology Laboratory and lung cancer research.

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

New lungs offer a 'second chance'

2011-03-24T19:46:56Z

CF patient gets a lifesaving lung transplant from U’s award-winning program

But this past winter, all that changed—for the better.

In December, Jamie received a lifesaving double-lung transplant at the University of Minnesota. The most remarkable part of having new lungs, she says, is spending less time on therapies and more time with her husband, Chris Hammer, and stepdaughter, Jillian. “Also, it’s unbelievable just waking up and breathing and feeling good,” she adds.

Shortly after Jamie’s transplant, the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview was recognized by HealthGrades, an independent rating organization, for its top outcomes in lung transplantation. The University was one of only three centers awarded the HealthGrades Lung Transplant Excellence Award.

Living with CF

CF is a hereditary disease that affects the body’s movement of salt and water in the lining of internal organs. The disease causes blocked airways, leads to repeated lung infections, inflammation, and progressive scarring, and makes it difficult to absorb food from the intestines.

Just a few decades ago, CF patients were not expected to live to age 10. But patients treated at the University live a decade longer than the national average, now 37.

University physician Warren Warwick, M.D., a CF research pioneer and founder of the University’s Cystic Fibrosis Center, diagnosed Jamie’s CF in 1980. Warwick invented the first CF chest compression vest now used around the world to help clear the lungs and extend the lives of people with CF. Jamie began using the vest at age 10.

As Jamie grew into adulthood, she continued to receive care at the University. When she developed diabetes, she again turned to the University for treatment. “We’re so fortunate to have everything right here,” she says.

Jamie, who had very few CF-related complications as a child and adolescent, attended college at St. Cloud State University, graduated with a degree in recreation administration, and became a certified recreational therapist. She married Chris five years ago and worked as the director of therapeutic recreation at Augustana Chapel View Care Center.

But in October 2010, what Jamie thought was an average cold turned into something more serious, and she was admitted to the hospital. Her lung function dramatically declined in the following weeks, and doctors determined that she needed a lung transplant.

A lifesaving transplant

During Jamie’s long hospital stay, her friends and family—including her husband and stepdaughter, Chris and Jillian, her parents, Connie and Jim Haubenschild, and Jamie’s three sisters—were a constant presence.

Jamie was added to the lung transplant waiting list right after Thanksgiving. How soon a patient receives a donor organ depends on a number of criteria, says Marshall Hertz, M.D., one of Jamie’s doctors and director of the University’s lung transplant program and the Center for Lung Science and Health.

“We are required to try to transplant the sickest person first,” he explains, adding that each patient evaluation takes into account the urgency of the need and probability of survival after transplantation.

Hertz says that Jamie’s condition became precarious. “Every couple of days, you could see a few steps backward.”

By December, Jamie needed a ventilator to breathe. Typically, patients can survive on a ventilator for only about a week. “She was on [a ventilator] for two-plus weeks,” Hertz says.

“My family and friends came to say their goodbyes,” Jamie recalls tearfully.

Then, just in time, new lungs became available. On December 21, Jamie underwent a double-lung transplant performed by University surgeons Rosemary Kelly, M.D., and Sara Shumway, M.D. “It was a miracle,” Jamie says.

“It’s like winning the Super Bowl,” says Hertz. “It lifted the whole team up.”

Remarkably, Jamie has had no complications since the transplant. “She has never had a setback—which is really unusual,” says Hertz.

‘A big source of pride’

As Jamie sees it, the University doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapy team made a huge difference in her survival. “The doctors and the nursing staff were excellent. The staff really rallied around me.”

Jonathan D’Cunha, M.D., Ph.D., a University thoracic surgeon in the lung transplant program and lung researcher, says that the lung transplant team is very proud of success stories, like Jamie’s.

The University was recognized for its successes when it was awarded the HealthGrades Lung Transplant Excellence Award based on criteria that included patient survival, graft survival, the rate at which patients on the waiting list receive transplants, and the waitlist mortality.

“It’s a big source of pride for all of us,” Hertz says of the recognition.

Philanthropic support for the University’s Center for Lung Science and Health is crucial to keeping the momentum going, D’Cunha says. “We can really drive our program to the next level through giving.” Such support, he adds, could fund research to develop advances in organ preservation and stem cell research to help grow organs for transplantation.

Grateful for her lifesaving care, Jamie says she wants to give back by participating in lung transplant research studies at the University. She also is assisting hospital social workers by talking with patients who are still on the transplant waiting list—and giving them hope.

“I’m still going through the wow factor,” Jamie says of her life post-transplant. “It’s like I have a second chance.”

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Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Making the most of a second chance

2010-12-15T20:51:13Z

U lung transplant recipient becomes a patient advocate, makes a planned gift

Alpha-1 is caused by decreased or abnormal production of a protein called alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT), which is produced by the liver and protects the lungs from inflammation and inhaled irritants.

The debilitating illness was tough for Schuck to accept. “Because the lungs are the most robust systems, we take them for granted,” says Schuck, an active angler and ambitious businessman who didn’t like the idea of slowing down.

A University alumnus and engineer-turned-entrepreneur, Schuck had worked for Medtronic, Inc. and other tech companies, and had cofounded two successful companies of his own. “I’m kind of aggressive in pushing what I want to do,” he says.

But that drive and high energy conflicted with the realities of living with Alpha-1. In addition to drug therapy, Schuck would need a lung transplant.

Life with Alpha-1

For Schuck, life with Alpha-1 became a challenge. He would get winded easily and had to have an extra oxygen supply at night. “It limits what you can do,” he says. “When I was at my worst, I had to calculate everything—every step.”

Besides the challenges, Schuck says, his experience provided new insights.

For example, living with a lung disease carried a stigma and exposed him to the widely held assumption that people with lung conditions brought on their illness through their lifestyle choices, such as cigarette smoking. “I have a genetic disease; I didn’t do this to myself,” he says, adding that he hopes sharing his story will help educate people.

Also, while Schuck waited for a lung transplant, he took a drug called Prolastin to help replace the missing A1AT protein. The drug cost $125,000 per year. He says that exploring his treatment options taught him a lot about how drug companies make money and about the importance of medical research in improving treatment for lung-related illnesses.

In 2003, after living with the disease for more than a decade, Schuck was offered a second chance through a single-lung transplant at the University of Minnesota. “When I had my transplant, I had 12 percent lung function,” he says.

A second chance

Within weeks of Schuck’s transplant, his lung function and quality of life were profoundly improved. “It was a great experience. This is the place in the U.S.—maybe in the world—to get a transplant,” he says.

“In transplantation, it’s really a partnership between the health care professionals and the patient,” says Marshall Hertz, M.D., Schuck’s physician and director of the University’s Center for Lung Science and Health (CLSH). “Ed has done everything we asked him to. He’s just determined to do well.”

True to his ambitious nature, Schuck didn’t rest for long after his transplant. “It’s not what you can’t do—it’s what you can do,” he says. “Climbing a mountain is out. But I ski at lower altitudes.” And he now enjoys more low-key hobbies, such as restoring boats and collecting duck decoys.

Schuck and his wife, Judy, also enjoy traveling and visiting their two grown daughters and four grandchildren in Idaho and Australia. They recently returned from Australia and New Zealand, and they are planning a trip to South Africa.

“You look at each day differently,” he says. “I am here because I got a second chance, and I intend to take advantage of it.”

Becoming a patient advocate

That second chance also inspired the Schucks to help others suffering from lung-related illnesses.

Ed Schuck has served as a dedicated volunteer for the Alpha-1 Foundation and is committed to supporting the University. He and Judy recently made a gift of more than $140,000 from their estate to the University’s CLSH to promote and advance the center’s top-notch research, outcomes, and clinical medicine.

“I did so well after the transplant,” Ed says. “When I looked at [transplant] results, the University had some of the better outcomes in the nation.”

Additionally, Schuck joined the Minnesota Medical Foundation’s Lung Advisory Committee, where he is using his connections and business background to advance lung-related research and care at the University.

“People underestimate their input, their stories, and their voice,” Schuck says. “You’d be surprised what a small group of people can do when they’re focused on a mission.”

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Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

U hospitals rank among nation's best

2010-11-16T19:09:21Z

The annual rankings are based in part on reputation, death rate, and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services.

This year University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the United States in six medical specialties: kidney disorders (18th), pulmonology (23rd), gastroenterology (29th), cancer (37th), otolaryngology (44th), and orthopaedics (46th).

University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital this year was named among the nation’s top 30 children’s hospitals in two medical specialties—kidney disorders (9th) and cancer (24th).

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Because with your support, anything is possible.

Gratitude for decades of care

2010-06-01T17:14:37Z

Family thanks U doctor for son’s care by supporting cystic fibrosis research

The year was 1972 and at that time children with cystic fibrosis (CF) were not expected to live to age 10.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary disease that disrupts the production of proteins in cells, affecting the body’s movement of salt and water in the lining of internal organs. The disease causes blocked airways leading to recurrent lung infection, inflammation, and progressive scarring. It also makes it hard for the body to absorb food.

Jason’s father, Ron Swain, says that he and Jason’s mother—his late wife, Sue Swain—sought the best care possible for Jason, bringing him to the University of Minnesota. “We found out very quickly that the University had the longest life expectancy,” says Ron. CF patients treated at the University live nearly a decade longer than the national average, now age 37.

At the U from the beginning

When Jason came to the University as a toddler, he was treated by Warren Warwick, M.D., founder of the University’s Cystic Fibrosis Center. Warwick is the inventor of the first CF chest compression vest, which helps to clear the lungs and has extended the lives of many people with CF around the world, including Jason’s.

“Dr. Warwick was so careful to explain everything,” Ron recalls, noting that Warwick taught Jason and the family the importance of sticking to a CF regimen, which helped him to stay healthy. “He made kids accept their treatments.”

Jason’s treatment included taking as many as 30 pills a day and receiving chest-pounding therapy from his parents twice a day to avoid the cycle of inflammation and infection common in people with CF.

As Jason aged, he continued to see University specialists, including Jordan Dunitz, M.D., and Joanne Billings, M.D., M.P.H.

Jason graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in music composition and played solo classical guitar, as well as in many rock bands, throughout his teen and adult years. He bought a house in Minneapolis, became a proud uncle, and enjoyed traveling with his family.

Life-extending care

When Jason’s lungs began to weaken in 2004, he sold his house and moved in with his dad in Excelsior, Minnesota. He received a double-lung transplant in March 2006 but suffered many complications.

“He was the sickest transplant patient they’d ever seen,” says Ron. Jason went into a coma for a week and his body swelled. He later developed a serious infection and both of his feet had to be amputated. “They didn’t expect him to pull through, but he did.”

As Dunitz recalls, “He had a rocky time with the transplant and rebounded. His drive and his motivation were really inspiring. He worked very hard to keep himself well.”

Jason adapted to life with prosthetic feet and maintained his sense of humor. “He called himself the bionic man,” recalls his stepmother, Marty Swain. And he joked that he’d rather have titanium legs, as opposed to the more realistic, flesh-colored ones, because they looked cooler.

After Jason passed away in January 2010, his brother, Eric Swain, thanked University doctors and staff in Jason’s eulogy:

“I would like to thank Dr. Dunitz, everyone on Jason’s cystic fibrosis and transplant teams, the nurses, aides, and therapists who looked after him (and became his friends) at the University of Minnesota Medical Center,” he said. “They did a fantastic job and we will never forget it.”

“After the transplant, he had two really good years,” Ron says. Jason was able to live on his own again, in downtown Minneapolis, and he traveled to Spain with his family in the summer of 2008.

“That was a great vacation. I was so happy we were able to do that,” says Marty, adding that the trip was especially meaningful because it allowed Jason to spend time with his young niece, Olivia, and nephews, Dylan and Aidan, who live in England. “They were his pride and joy.”

Although the last few years of Jason’s life were tough, Jason’s family credits the University with extending his life far beyond what doctors thought was possible and for ensuring that he had the best quality of life. “We never expected to see adult CF,” says Ron.

Giving and gratitude

Following Jason’s death, the Swain family wanted to give back in appreciation for Jason’s care. “They were all good to Jason,” Ron says. “We just decided we wanted to do something.”

Ron, who became involved with the CF Foundation in the 1970s and has remained a committed volunteer, says he understands the importance of medical research and wanted to make a difference.

So Ron and Marty, along with Jason’s brother Eric Swain, made a surprise $25,000 gift, in addition to nearly $9,000 collected through memorial gifts, to support Dunitz’s CF research. Ron and Marty also made a planned gift—designating a portion of their estate to support future CF research.

“As difficult as everything was the past four years,” Ron says. “Jordan made it easier.”

A grateful Dunitz says the gift will support projects aimed at improving the quality of life for CF patients. “Philanthropy is the initial investment in research that allows us to begin the studies that can eventually help identify new treatment approaches to improve the quality of lives for our patients.”

You can make a difference

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Still running strong: After a double lung transplant at U of M, Liz Johnson runs half marathon

2010-06-01T17:13:14Z

While sitting in the lobby of the Transplant Center at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in May 2010, Liz Johnson spots one of her doctors as he turns the corner to leave the clinic. She quickly turns to her father, Dick: “Dad, there goes Dr. Kempainen. Go see if you can catch him. I want to show him my medal.” Around her neck hangs a participation medal that she had earned only a few days earlier for running a half marathon back home in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The doctor, pulmonologist Robert Kempainen, M.D., was part of the medical team that saved her life. He is also a former member of the U.S. Olympic marathon teams for both the Barcelona Summer Games in 1992, and the Atlanta Games in 1996. Johnson wants him to know that she, too, has a marathon—or at least half of one—under her belt.

As Kempainen approaches the pair, he is beaming, and there are hugs and smiles all around as Johnson shows off her medal—quite an accomplishment for someone who just over a year ago had nearly died of lung failure.

Setting the bar high

Johnson was 4 months old when doctors diagnosed her cystic fibrosis, a debilitating progressive disease that causes difficulty breathing. In most cases, the lungs eventually fail and a lung transplant is often the only option. Yet, despite the seriousness of her condition, Johnson always set the bar high for herself, recalls her mother, Sherry. Johnson managed to stay fairly healthy and joined the cross country team in middle school. Later, in college, she played intramural football, volleyball, and basketball.

But in June 2007, her doctors in Omaha, Nebraska, told her that she needed to start considering a lung transplant. Her lungs were starting to fail, and it was only going to get worse.

“I was convinced that they were crazy,” Johnson says. “I didn’t think I needed a transplant because I still felt pretty healthy. I told myself that I was going to try to train for and finish a half marathon, and if I could do that and [my doctors] still felt I needed a transplant, then I would be open to going in for an evaluation.”

But other activities, including her classes at University of Nebraska, Lincoln, kept her busy, and she never got around to training for the run. In the meantime, her health gradually but steadily declined. Looking back now, Johnson recalls that even doing a load of laundry would wear her out.

Time running out

Then, in July 2008, she became seriously ill with a bacterial infection that disqualified her from being eligible for a transplant. For eight months, she struggled to get healthy enough to go to University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, for a transplant evaluation, finally making the trip in March 2009. At the hospital’s Transplant Center, she met with Jordan Dunitz, M.D., a lung transplant physician, and Jonathan D’Cunha, M.D., Ph.D., a transplant surgeon, along with other members of the team.

The verdict was clear: Johnson needed a transplant and time was running out. Her doctors placed her on the transplant list and she returned home to Nebraska with her parents to await the call that donor lungs were available. As weeks went by, however, it became clear that Johnson would soon be too weak to make the flight to Minnesota for surgery. Her family and doctors decided to have her flown by medical transport to Minnesota to await a transplant at the medical center. That was April 16.

The next day, Kempainen came on duty as the attending pulmonologist for lung transplant patients in the hospital. Johnson had a high fever and needed to be intubated to keep oxygen flowing to her steadily weakening lungs. Kempainen did everything he could for Johnson, her mother recalls, but that night he had to make the difficult decision to take her off the transplant list because she was too weak to withstand surgery. If donor lungs became available, they would go to someone else.

“It was to the point where I was wondering what it would be like to have to live another day if it was without my daughter,” recalls Sherry, her eyes filling with tears. “I knew it was coming down to the wire when we needed those lungs or we might lose her.”

The next morning, Kempainen arrived to find that Johnson’s condition had improved, and he had her relisted as quickly as possible. “He told me he really hadn’t expected to see Liz still alive in the morning,” Sherry says. Two days later, the transplant team informed the family that donor lungs were available. The lungs arrived within hours, and Johnson was in surgery with D’Cunha and Sara Shumway, M.D.

Living life to the fullest

“It felt like a miracle,” says Sherry, “but it was also very humbling because I knew [the donor] family wasn’t having the same joy we were having.”

Although Johnson remembers nothing of the last few days before her surgery, she does recall the fear she felt when she arrived at the hospital to wait for her transplant. After surgery, she says, she made the decision to live her life to the fullest.

After several weeks of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, Johnson returned to Nebraska at the end of June 2009. In less than six months, she completed her courses at the university and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in secondary math and English education. She recently landed a job with a community college in Norfolk, Nebraska, providing administrative support and working as an online adviser to students.

And, yes, she is also getting back to running. “I set it as a goal to finally run a half marathon, and I was determined to do it,” Johnson says. Leading up to the race, her uncle in Oregon—a runner himself and a pediatrician—coached her via email and text messaging. He also flew in with his wife to join Johnson on the day of the run, and to help monitor her blood sugars during the race (Johnson developed diabetes as a side effect of the anti-rejection medicines she must take.)

Although her ankle started to bother her at mile 8.5, Johnson was hardly going to let that stop her. “I told myself that if I got to that starting line, I was going to get to the finish line, even if I had to crawl across,” Johnson says.

“To see her now, you would never know she once was so close to not making it,” says transplant nurse coordinator Bobbie Rosenthal, R.N., who has monitored Johnson’s health following the transplant. “She looks and is doing great. It is really amazing.”

You can make a difference

Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. Make a gift today.

Because with your support, anything is possible.

Lung Health | Minnesota Medical Foundation

U lung transplant recipients climb 50 flights

Grateful to the U

Veteran Twin Cities’ TV reporter, ARDS survivor becomes U lung research ambassador

Marcia’s story

Improving ARDS outcomes

‘The best’

IRA charitable giving opportunity extended for 2013

U lung center to get new home, expand clinical care

Leave a legacy of hope

Ways to give

Benefits

Turning loss into hope

A family creates a foundation to advance IPF research

A tie to the U

Keeping it local

Learn more

Marketing in earnest

U of M senior raises funds for cystic fibrosis research

Racing for a reason

Organ donor and volunteer David Murphy is running his first marathon to raise awareness about lung disease research at the U

Blogging for a cause

Breathing Easier

Summer 2012

Organ donor and volunteer David Murphy is running his first marathon to raise awareness about lung disease research at the U

Spring 2012

U Medical School, public health students study mesothelioma in India

Fall 2011

Spring 2011

Donor-funded research advances work of U lung cancer team

CF patient gets a lifesaving lung transplant from U’s award-winning program

Fall 2010

U lung transplant recipient becomes a patient advocate, makes a planned gift

Spring 2010

Family thanks U doctor for son’s care by supporting cystic fibrosis research

After a double lung transplant at U of M, Liz Johnson runs half marathon

About Breathing Easier

Archives

Improving lung health abroad

U Medical School, public health students study mesothelioma in India

Learning while helping others

Importance of philanthropic support

Career-shaping lessons

A gift to the U, lifetime income for you

Antibiotic may reduce acute COPD attacks

U lung scientists recognized with national awards

U researchers advance crucial stem cell technology

Philanthropy propels new lung cancer research

Donor-funded research advances work of U lung cancer team

Essential support

A collaborative research approach

Part of the University’s broader team

D’Cunha wins national teaching award

Special event

New lungs offer a 'second chance'

CF patient gets a lifesaving lung transplant from U’s award-winning program

Living with CF

A lifesaving transplant

‘A big source of pride’

Making the most of a second chance

U lung transplant recipient becomes a patient advocate, makes a planned gift

Life with Alpha-1

A second chance

Becoming a patient advocate

U hospitals rank among nation's best

Gratitude for decades of care

Family thanks U doctor for son’s care by supporting cystic fibrosis research

At the U from the beginning

Life-extending care

Giving and gratitude

Still running strong: After a double lung transplant at U of M, Liz Johnson runs half marathon

Setting the bar high

Time running out

Living life to the fullest