Special delivery: A new set of lungs

The day Chip Judd got the news that he was about to receive a new set of lungs was the start of what he'd later call a wild ride.

Those lungs, the gift of life for Judd, didn't come with ribbons and bow. But they did have Judd’s name on them, delivered straight from a family in Maryland who had learned about Judd’s plight through his best friend from The Citadel.

And that gift came in the nick of time.

 

Time was running short for Judd, 71, a pastor and counselor who lives on Daniel Island. In 2018, Judd was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease characterized by thickening and scarring of the lungs. The condition progressively diminishes breathing capacity and is incurable.

Although he had been on medication for nearly seven years and had managed to keep his condition quiet, Judd knew he was “in the last inning of the game” if he didn’t get a lung transplant.

“I had been doing well on my medication and was able to keep my schedule and stay connected with my normal life, but in summer of 2024, I went downhill pretty significantly after taking an experimental drug,” he said. “I hadn’t told anyone except my wife, children, and a few close friends about my condition because I didn’t want random people asking me how I’m doing. By summer, however, my breathing was seriously impaired, and I had to be on high levels of oxygen all the time.”

His MUSC pulmonologist Terrill Huggins, M.D., told him his only option was a double-lung transplant – if he qualified. Huggins referred him to MUSC’s transplant team for evaluation and a battery of tests.

“The process was very involved. As more tests were done, certain things came up,” Judd said, “including my age and the fact that most patients my age get only one lung instead of two,” Judd said.

Luca Paoletti, M.D., medical director of MUSC’s Lung Transplant Program, said the transplant team recognized that Judd had several factors in his favor, specifically that he was in good physical shape and healthy except for his lungs.

 

“He was strong, robust and did everything we asked him to do,” Paoletti said. “That’s key because the stronger you are, the better the outcome will be.”

By Thanksgiving, Judd’s test results were all “on the right side,” and his name was added to the transplant list.

“I was looking at three possible outcomes: God’s intervention, a lung transplant or get worse and die,” he said. “Ultimately, I felt that I would get the lung transplant, and that I would be OK, but it was going to get worse before it got better.  And when I prayed, I saw myself in a hospital bed recovering from surgery.”

What he did not see was how the scenario would unfold. It started with a phone call on Dec. 17 from his best friend’s daughter, who lives in Texas. “She asked if I needed lungs,” Judd said. “And she told me there was a ‘situation’ with her best friend’s family in Maryland.”

The next day, Judd got a call from a stranger identifying herself as PJ’s sister. “She told me her brother had died tragically, and the family wanted to make sure the lungs would go to someone that he would be proud of.”

Judd said he was mystified by the calls and didn’t get too excited. Then, he got a call later that day from a woman who said she was with the organ-providing service in Maryland.

“She wanted to talk to the team at MUSC. That’s when I knew that something was going on here.”

At 5 p.m. on Dec. 19, he got another call. This one was straight to the point.

“‘We have lungs for you,’” the caller said. “‘Get to the (MUSC) hospital as quickly as possible.’”

The lungs were a match.

“I’m thinking, ‘You’re about to have your chest cut open,’” Judd said. “I knew I was about to get on a wild ride that you can’t get off.”  

 

The next day, MUSC thoracic surgeon Barry Gibney, D.O., performed the seven-hour transplant surgery. Judd celebrated Christmas with his wife, Coleen, and their three children in the stepdown unit.

Two weeks later, he returned home, thrilled that it wasn’t filled with the bulky oxygen concentrator and oxygen tanks.  

The last four months have been a steady regimen of physical and respiratory therapy and cardiovascular rehabilitation and strength training with MUSC therapists.

Paoletti said Judd “has done the work in terms of exercise and rehabilitation and is doing well.”

Thanks to the care and encouragement he received at MUSC, Judd said he is regaining strength and feeling great.

“Most days, Coleen and I are shocked by how good I feel,” he said. “I’m pretty much back to a reduced but normal schedule.”

Judd attributes his recovery to the entire team at MUSC, who were caring, professional and encouraging.  

“It had been 20 years since I was on the campus when I began going to MUSC five years ago,” Judd said. “Everyone we talked to was engaged, from the receptionist and housekeeping staff to the nurses and the entire clinical team. Everyone’s attitude contributed to an outstanding experience and helped us feel cared for and safe. We had zero complaints and much appreciation.”

Then, as if drifting into a newfound peace, Judd said: “The doctors told me I had gotten a  really good set of lungs. I would add that I got really good care.”