MADISON Wis. – A LaCrosse man who received a double lung and heart transplant at the University of Wisconsin in early April is up and about doing well. In a news release, UW Health said that 24-year-old Daniel Milburn, 24, was its first patient since 2008 to receive both a heart and a lung transplant. His was also the 15th multi-organ transplant in the program’s history. Milburn is walking 40 minute a day with his mother, exercising, and is looking to get back to work soon, the hospital said. He was stricken Easter weekend with a rare pulmonary disease. LaCrosse doctors found massive blood clots his lungs and rushed him to UW Health in Madison. Doctors stabilized his asthma-like symptoms and added him on a waitlist for organ donations. Within 24 hours, an unusually short time, organs were airlifted to Madison on ice and the surgery performed. Erin Lowery, medical director for UW Health’s lung transplant program, called it “a herculean effort that required incredible coordination between multiple programs across the organization.”
With new heart and lungs. After an historic transplant, Daniel Milburn and his mother Ronda are getting their lives back in order. He hopes soon to be back at work.