Margaret and Jim

Margaret never let medical issues keep her from living a rich life. 

She was born with Cystic Fibrosis, but wasn’t diagnosed until she was 14 at which time the life expectancy for CF was 15, a sentence she decided not to accept. At the age of 21 she was diagnosed with CF related diabetes, but that still didn’t phase her.  

She became a teacher and made it through congestive heart failure at age 30. At 40, she received a double lung transplant. As a result of the immunosuppressant drugs she takes for her lung transplant, Margaret’s kidneys failed at the age of 59. 

And she is now the very grateful recipient of a new kidney, a gift from her 73-year-old brother Jim. Oh, she is also a world record holder in the Transplant Games for race walking and teaches Zumba in her spare time.