Wil had been sick so long, he can hardly recall a time when he felt good. For years doctors were treating an unknown lung disease that required him to take a lot of medication and be on oxygen to breathe. As years passed, Wil had to quit his job as a teacher because the inhalers and oxygen left his body too tired to even walk up a flight of stairs.
A bi-lateral lung transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 2007 changed his life. “I’m back to being ME, after years of suffering. My wife and children were so supportive throughout the process,” Wil says. “I lost a son several years ago, and I think he’s watching out for me like an angel in heaven.”
Wil is enjoying teaching again for the first time in years. “Being back in the school setting is so enriching to me,” says Wil. “I have such an appreciation for life now. I feel I’ve been given another chance at life and plan to make the most out of it.”
