In July of 2024, Christina McKay, 36, learned that her husband, Duane, 40, would need a double lung transplant. But instead of succumbing to panic, she calmly planned her next steps.
As a 911 dispatcher, staying collected and driven is part of the job.
"I literally work in crisis every day to fix things and get people where they need to go," said McKay. "When I face an unexpected event, I go into planning mode. I took the same approach when Duane was diagnosed with cancer and again when he started having lung issues."
The firefighter had recovered from a battle with acute myelogenous leukemia, a type of blood cancer, in 2020. But he wasn't alone in his struggle. Their then two-year-old daughter Maddi had also completed treatment for a rare nerve tissue cancer at the time. Duane and his daughter both received treatments at UNC Health and achieved full remission.
Then, life threw the family yet another curveball.
A Breath-Taking Diagnosis
Just five years into remission, Duane developed a persistent cough. Then he had trouble catching his breath. When it got to the point where he could not play with his two daughters, he scheduled an appointment with Christine Vigeland, MD, a pulmonologist at UNC Health.
Vigeland gave Duane a full work-up and ultimately diagnosed him with idiopathic interstitial lung disease, or ILD. ILD is a group of disorders characterized by inflammation, scarring of lung tissue, and significant breathing difficulties.
He was given several medications to help. But his lungs continued to decline.
"After about a year of medication-based treatment, they decided that it was best that he receive a lung transplant, because his lungs, in the condition that they were in, were not going to last," said Christina. "Then he was placed on the transplant list."
Jason Lobo, MD, who is co-Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program and Interstitial Lung Disease Center, and Raymond Coakley, MD, co-Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program, ensured that Duane completed all of the necessary tests to determine if his body could withstand a transplant-including extensive breathing tests, blood tests, and an echocardiogram-and met with a cardiologist and a nutritionist.
Playing the Agonizing Waiting Game
For the McKays, one week turned into two. Weeks turned into months. And right before Thanksgiving-some four grueling months on the transplant list-Duane received the life-changing phone call. They had a pair of lungs for him.
Benjamin E. Haithcock, MD
Christina was prepared, as always. Their daughters were able to stay local to home with Duane's parents. She gathered the couple's things and took the 45-minute drive to Chapel Hill.
They arrived at UNC Medical Center at 7:00pm. Duane's long-awaited surgery, spearheaded by Benjamin E. Haithcock, MD, Surgical Director of the UNC Lung Transplant program, began promptly at 1:30am the next morning.
The complex surgery was completed in nine hours. As is standard protocol, Duane stayed on anesthesia and a ventilator to help him ease into his new lungs. Once awake, his medical team worked diligently to get him walking on his own.
The strict physical therapy timeline would be crucial for his recovery and abnormally quick inpatient visit. Just nine days post-procedure, he returned home.
A Father's Day First
Duane recovering from his double lung transplant. Credit: Christina McKay
At-home recovery was difficult and full of new experiences.
Christina says she found particular comfort in navigating the uncertainty, by speaking with the UNC lung transplant team and members of lung transplant support groups to ask about medication side effects and read stories of hope.
"We wouldn't be where we are now without the help from others that went through the same journey as we did," said Christina. "You get so close to these people to where they're like family. Those transplant support groups and the doctors in Chapel Hill will always be family to us."
Seven months after his transplant procedure, Duane can cut the grass on his own, play outside with his daughters, and enjoy living life without being tied to an oxygen tank. For Father's Day, he took his daughters to the beach. Given his recent medical ordeal, it was certainly a memorable one.
Duane with his daughters. Credit: Christina McKay
Duane is on medical leave for the time being. Once given the "all clear," he says he wants to return to the firefighting field and continue helping his community. Christina will be doing what she does best: caring for her family, helping the next caller, and inspiring other families going through medical ordeals.
"I had to go through a lot as a caregiver," said Christina. "But I soon realized that there's good in every day. I think I stood behind that phase, even when Duane had setbacks. There's fear, obviously, and there's some fatigue, but you have to just take it one day at a time. You've come this far already."
