Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
A former member of the Christiansburg Town Council has passed away at the age of 74 after a long battle with illnesses.
Harry Collins died Sunday at Duke Hospital.
Christiansburg Mayor Michael Barber took a moment to remember him.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of Harry’s passing,” Barber said. “He was a great friend. His term on council was at a time of great growth and expansion of services for our town. He was a tremendous and avid supporter of our recreation department and played a huge part in bringing the Huckleberry Park to our citizens. I will miss Harry greatly as he was a great friend. Prayers for his family.”
Collins is also an author and had served as the CEO of the Lung Transplant Foundation. The latter came about after his lung transplant 16 years ago.
He served on Christiansburg Town Council from 2016 to 2020 and tried a second term in this past year’s local election where he failed to gain enough votes.
Before council, he spent 12 years on the town’s planning commission.
He had undergone a bilateral lung transplant in 2010 due to Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an ongoing lung condition caused by damage to the lungs. Collins said it came down to his longtime smoking cigarettes.
Collins wrote a book entitled “My Second Chance at Life,” which focused on his personal health journey. In addition, he wrote a number of short stories including nine children’s books under the brand “The Collins Kids.”
Collins was diagnosed with health problems in 2009 after ongoing breathing problems.
COPD is a progressive lung disease that takes the life out of your lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing or a chronic cough. For those living with the problem, every breath is a struggle. The latest numbers show that almost 15 million Americans have been diagnosed with the breathing problem, and another 12 million may have COPD that hasn’t yet been diagnosed.
Collins spent several weeks in the hospital and was told he was going to die within months unless he received a lung transplant. He was referred to Duke Hospital and within 21 days he received a transplant. His body rejected the transplant three times, but with medicine and the help of doctors he lived a normal life.
“I only have half of my original lung capacity, but I am breathing,” he said at the time.
The largest cause of COPD is a history of smoking cigarettes, which Collins did for years.
Collins still had to take medicine to make sure his body didn’t reject the lungs, and there were routine visits back to Duke Hospital.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says 78 percent of lung transplant patients only survive one year, and 63 percent will live for three years beyond transplant. Collins was just three weeks away from 16 years.
Funeral arrangements for Collins are pending.
