Receiving new lungs and a big heart
It’s been the longest wait Greene County has seen in quite a while, but Morgan Yoney finally has new lungs.
The 22-year-old Spraggs woman, who’s been waiting two years for her second double-lung transplant, finally underwent the surgery last week and the entire community – dubbed Morgan’s Army – is ecstatic.
Throughout the day Thursday, Morgan’s mother, Tammy Yoney, continuously updated the progress of the surgery on the Morgan’s Army Facebook page. Her posts reached thousands of people who have been following Morgan’s story, and hundreds left comments to encourage Morgan and share love and prayers for her.
That kind of support is testament to how much Morgan’s story has resonated with the community over the past two years. Diagnosed when she was only 9 months old with cystic fibrosis, Yoney’s already gone through a liver and double-lung transplant, but her body rejected the first set and she was once again put on a transplant waiting list.
From Morgantown, W.Va., to Pittsburgh and Greensburg, supporters – some of whom were complete strangers to her – have been waiting with Morgan for that phone call, which she got last Wednesday, telling her that she’ll get a new set of lungs.
It’s not just sympathy for Morgan’s suffering that’s gained her the solidarity of Southwestern Pennsylvania. It’s her selflessness. Throughout her 2-year wait, Morgan has been anything but idle.
Over the summer, she launched a blood drive in Washington and Greene Counties that brought in more than 100 donors. This Christmas will be her second year doing a blanket drive for patients at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh.
Her lungs might have only been functioning at 16 percent capacity, but throughout her wait, she’s had a bigger heart, with more love to share than most of us could boast.
Even after getting her long-awaited phone call, Morgan was thinking of others, when she asked her “army” to keep the donor’s family in their thoughts and prayers.
“So I not only ask that you pray for me but that you pray for the donor and the donor’s family as well,” she said in a video posted to the Morgan’s Army Facebook page.
Now that she has new lungs, Morgan’s battle is far from over. Her surgery Thursday was far from the end of her story, or the end of the outpouring of community support she’ll receive. With a long road to recovery ahead of her, she will need her army more than ever.