Rich Kenzie

Breathe Free Rich Kenzie

The story you are about to read is one of my fight for survival. For most of my adult life, I was someone who had few real struggles in life other than the normal day-to-day stresses: raising children, maintaining a healthy marriage, keeping a steady job, etc. That all changed after I turned fifty. For several years, I lived as if I were drowning. I would struggle and grasp for air as someone who dives down too deep and can't rise to the surface quickly enough. In the Spring of 2013, my doctor diagnosed me with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, commonly referred to as IPF. As my physical condition continued to decline, my pulmonologist recommended me for a double lung transplant. I remember my surgeon saying that a double lung transplant is the "Murder One" of surgeries. What he meant was, it is one of the hardest surgeries a human can endure. Surprisingly, the procedure itself is fairly straightforward from a skilled surgeon's perspective; however, the toll on the human body is intense. The recovery time average is four to six weeks or in some cases, as you will read in my journey, significantly longer. Without a shadow of a doubt, God's providence and divine intervention in my life led me to a place where I could receive the best possible medical care for my situation. I can now see how my journey from my birthplace in England to Canada, and on to Pittsburgh-the home of some of the top pulmonologists in the country-was all part of the Lord's divine plan for me. There is no question that I owe my life to my amazing medical team at UPMC Presbyterian. But the ultimate physician-our creator God-receives all the glory and honor for my survival. I know that without my faith and trust in God my story would be written by someone else, posthumously.