Marty Gordon
CHRISTIANSBURG – Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease that causes breathing problems and restricted airflow. Typically, it is caused by long-term cigarette smoking.
Harry Collins was one of those individuals, a long-time smoker where many relatives had died from cancer, including his mother.
“I know smoking was killing me, but I liked it so much I willing to take the risk,” he said in a recent interview. “I always thought I could not live without a cigarette when, in fact, the opposite was true.
After a trip to the hospital, Collins was told he might not survive.
Now, Collins is sharing his struggle.
Medical experts say the serious side of COPD will prevent individuals from daily activities like walking and taking care of themselves. Collins was determined to change things.
“I hope my story provides some encouragement to others who might be going through the same thing,” he said.
A lung transplant can be life-changing for people like Collins, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Of course, a transplant isn’t a permanent cure, but it does help control the symptoms and allows the individual to live longer.
In most cases, the longevity is just averaging five years. Collins has rewritten those numbers. Many people that were in his transplant support group have passed. He says six are still living after going through similar experiences.
“It has been over 14 years since I had my transplant, and a lot of things have happened in that time,” Collins says as he opens his narrative.
“There is nothing special about me. I’m just a regular 59-year-old man who was given the supreme gift in life—another chance,” he said.
His story is one of survival and hope. Collins served one-term on the Christiansburg Town Council and remains active in the community.
He is now sharing the bigger picture with the release of three short novels that describe that first step of a lung transplant.
“My 2nd Chance at Life” is about the true events surrounding his bilateral lung transplant for a man who had COPD and had six months to live without a lung transplant.
Thankfully a transplant came about after four dry runs, and this book is about the true trials and tribulations of this journey. It goes through details that he thought would interest the reader.
When he had his lung transplant, there were no books to be found like this. He goes though the friendships he made with the other 25 or so people needing a transplant and the ups and downs with these folks. He even talks about one of his best friends getting his transplant and then passing away tragically. It’s a great short read for information on what actually happens when you get a lung transplant when you swap out one set of problems for another set of problems.
“Since lung transplants are becoming much more prevalent, this information has become more important,” Collins said.
He joined the Lung Transplant Foundation in 2010 because he felt the need to help find a cure for BOS, which is rejection. He organized the First Annual Lung Transplant Foundation Golf Tournament in June 2011 and has completed 7 tournaments since then. He has served as Vice President and since the death of our Founder, Jeff Goldstein, he has served as CEO and Chairman of the Board for this organization.
Of course, all the drugs that have helped to make his transplant somewhat successful has caused many other problems.
“The steroids we take for our immune system affect our body in many ways,” he said.
One of those side effects is “Avascular Neucrosis”, which has attacked his bones and joints. He spent several weeks earlier this year fighting this. He has had two hips and a shoulder replaced. He is waiting for a knee and ankle replacement, but doctors have warned that be troublesome because of his lung transplant.
Those same drugs have drastically affected his kidneys, and he is now on dialysis.
The most important thing in his life, according to Collins, is his family, wife, children and grandchildren. He has four children, two stepchildren, and 13 grandchildren.
When he had his transplant, he only had two grandchildren.
“That shows what great things happen with transplants,” he said.
Collins had the chance and honor to meet 11 more grandchildren after his transplant.
“I just hope people learn not to give up,” he said.
But his writings didn’t stop there. He has also written a short story about his battle with stuttering.
In the book, “I Was a Child Stutterer,” he lets the reader into the world of how people treat stutterers. He talks about how stuttering can affect your future plans and how it affects your present-day life.
He gives examples of how people truly treat those with speech problems.
“For some reason some people think stuttering is funny,” he said. “This book shows them it’s not funny.”
This past week, Collins released his third short novel, which discussed his third chance at life after kidney failure. “I just feel very lucky,” he said.
All three books can be found on Amazon.
