CLEVELAND — A northeast Ohio woman is on the road to recovery after overcoming a severe lung disease, thanks to what she called a medical miracle.

What You Need To Know

  • A northeast Ohio woman is on the road to recovery after overcoming a severe lung disease

  • Doctors diagnosed Linda Uehlein with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

  • In order to survive, she needed a double lung transplant

Linda Uehlein’s long road back to health began more three years ago when she walked into her doctor’s office at Cleveland Clinic. 

Uehlein went into the appointment thinking she had asthma, but left with life-changing news.

Doctors diagnosed Uehlein with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a serious chronic disease that affects the tissue surrounding the air sacs, or alveoli, in your lungs, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. 

“I was scared to death,” Uehlein said.

Two years later, her health got worse, so much so she even struggled walking across a room. In order to survive, she needed a double lung transplant.

Finding a donor wasn’t the only challenge. Uehlein also had to prove she was strong enough to undergo the operation. She had to show she could walk for six minutes straight. It was hard, but she said support from her family and friends made it a little bit easier.

“I could not ask for better support,” she said. 

Her son, Mike, showed his support by lacing up his sneakers. He was determined to complete a tough feat of his own by running the Boston Marathon in honor of his mom. But during his training, his mom’s health took a turn for the worst.

Uehlein was admitted into the hospital, right in the middle of the pandemic.

She needed the transplant right away.

She thought finding a donor would take months, but thanks to what she called a miracle, it took less than a day. And thanks to her doctors at Cleveland Clinic, she’s able to share her story today.

“They saved my life,” she said. 

She said her doctors are more than just physicians. They became close friends.

“Linda is such an incredible force of nature that every bump that came along, she just paved it really well,” said Dr. Marie Budev, one of Uehlein’s doctors at Cleveland Clinic.

As for Mike, he too was able to cross the finish line, doing so in April. His mom couldn't be prouder.

“You’re going to have those dark, dark days, but stay positive and there’s light ahead,” she said.