Every morning when Gwen Livingston wakes up she is grateful. She is grateful for family gatherings and to be able to play with her grandchildren. She is grateful to be able to move freely around her home. She is grateful each and every time she inhales.

Breathing is something most of us do without thinking, and on average, an adult breathes about 12 to 20 times per minute. That’s more than 17,000 breaths per day. But imagine if each and every breath was a struggle. Imagine feeling constantly breathless and tired, even while doing simple daily activities like climbing the stairs. That is how Gwen used to feel every day.

Gwen has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. In November 2018, after several years of her condition worsening, her lungs were only working at 15 per cent capacity.

Every day was a battle. She had to give up the activities she loves so much. She had to stop working. All physical activity was challenging; she even had to crawl up her stairs on her hands and knees. She was almost at the point of being bed-ridden, and it was even difficult for her to speak. She had been approved and added to the waitlist for a life-saving lung transplant, but had to be put on palliative care while she waited. She was worried that she would lose her fight and that she wouldn’t have the chance to meet her fifth grandchild.

Then, she got the call. The call that 600 Albertans with end stage organ failure wait for each day – offering a second chance at life.  Gwen and her husband immediately drove up from Calgary to the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute (Maz). They didn’t speak about her surgery the whole drive. Gwen’s husband was nervous, but Gwen felt at peace. She knew she was going to make it through and her life was about to change.