Paul Rivera has always loved working with his hands, and carpentry is his passion. But when a persistent cough left him weakened and exhausted, Paul feared he would have to hang up his tools for good.
“The cough started getting really heavy and my chest was inflamed. I couldn't take the pain. And my wife says ‘Okay, that's it. We're going to the emergency room.’”
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Paul: : And one December I get this cough and my wife says "That cough sounds bad. I think you should go to the doctor." And I said "I really don't want to miss a day of school. I’ve got such a perfect attendance." And she says "Yeah, but the cough," and I said "Don't worry. I think it's just a small cold." So at almost about three o'clock in the morning, the cough started getting really heavy and my chest was inflamed. I couldn't take the pain. And my wife says "Okay, that's it. We're going to the emergency room."
Unfortunately, tests revealed that Paul had much more than the common cold. He was diagnosed with a debilitating and deadly condition known as Pulmonary Fibrosis—a disease in which the body’s own immune system causes permanent lung damage.
Over the next several years, Paul’s health further deteriorated. Used to being constantly on the go, Paul found himself confined to a wheelchair, unable to care for himself, and losing hope.
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Paul: Now I'm to a point where I'm actually in a wheelchair because I can't take two steps without stopping and losing my breath. My wife has to bathe me. She has to feed me. She has to dress me. She has to do everything for me because I cannot do anything for myself anymore. And that hurt. That hurt that I couldn't work anymore. [CRIES] I said: God, either send me a lung or take my life. I can't take this suffering anymore.
“I said: God, either send me a lung or take my life. I can't take this suffering anymore.”
Paul desperately needed a lung transplant. But with a history of heart attacks and pulmonary fibrosis, one Manhattan hospital ignored his pleas, and another turned him down twice.
“They just didn’t want to take the chance on doing a lung transplant. They felt I wouldn’t survive. And Montefiore Einstein stepped in.”
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Paul: "They just didn’t want to take the chance on doing a lung transplant. They felt I wouldn’t survive. They felt that because of all the stents in my heart that I would not survive a surgery of this magnitude. And that was a blow. I mean I felt really bad. I like looked up and I said, well, I guess we're just going to have to accept the fact that I'm going to die soon. My wife thought that I was going to die. My son thought I was going to die. I knew I was going to die, right. It's the way I looked at it. I said, well, I know this is it for me. I said if I don't get picked up by another hospital, I'll probably have another couple of months to live. And Montefiore Einstein stepped in."
Experts at Montefiore Einstein’s Advanced Lung Failure and Lung Transplant Program specialize in saving patients with complicated medical profiles, like Paul.
“We have continued to choose to do difficult cases that other centers choose not to. And that’s because we believe in our patients and want to give them a better life and a second chance.”
Ali Y. Mansour, MD
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Dr. Mansour: With our team that we have here, we’re able to offer risky candidates better outcomes. We’re going the extra mile, because we believe that with our expertise we’re able to do it. Other hospitals, other centers of excellence are not choosing to do these transplants because they would rather not take the risk. We have continued to choose to do difficult cases that other centers choose not to. And that’s because we believe in our patients and want to give them a better life and a second chance. Honestly, that’s what it all boils down to, a second chance. If you had heart disease, or any other secondary issue, you are still eligible to get a lung. In other centers, if you have lung disease and another kidney or liver disease, or heart disease, you are not a candidate anymore.
On November 13, 2020, Paul Rivera became Montefiore’s 100th lung transplant patient.
“Paul being the 100th just really reflects not only the volume, but the type of patient who we are willing to take care of here, and the challenges we’re willing to tackle.”
Stephen J. Forest, MD
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Dr. Forest: The 100th lung transplant obviously is symbolic for a large volume of patients that we were able to help. Seeing that number of patients transplanted within the first three years is a huge accomplishment that you rarely will see in a newly developed program. And so, I think that Paul being the 100th just really reflects not only the volume, but the type of patient who we are willing to take care of here, and the challenges we’re willing to tackle in a program who’s not only growing but pushing the limits in some cases.
Days later, he was released from the hospital, full of hope and finally able to breathe.
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Thank God Montefiore came into my life and said "Yeah, I think his heart will survive this surgery." They rolled me down into the operating room and five hours later I came out and it was such a relief. I felt so good. I started getting stronger and stronger and a week after surgery I get discharged home. And the only way I can show my gratitude is to show them that, you know what you gave me, I'm going to make it last as long as I can. You know, I'm going to give you good results. Every time you see me, you're going to see me even better.
“Thank God Montefiore Einstein came into my life... what you gave me, I'm going to make it last as long as I can.”
Grateful to be alive, Paul is using his experience to help and inspire others. He graduated from college and recently started virtual, support-based meetings for people with advanced lung disease.
“If I knocked on death’s door, and death didn't answer, then there must be a reason.”
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Paul: If I knocked on death’s door, and death didn't answer, then there must be a reason. So what is the reason? Well, maybe I need to reach out to some people and let them know my story. And let them share their story. And maybe we can make connections, and we can help each other like that. It's a way of giving back, for how grateful I am.
Paul is determined to keep his new lung healthy, and he has become a fitness fanatic. At 64, he’s in the best shape of his life.
“I'm an Army veteran, and even in the Army I wasn't as fit as I am now. At 64 I'm at the peak of my life right now. Feels great to finally live again. Breathe again. Breathe.”
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Paul:I've been given a new life and I don't want to throw it away. I want to make the best of this. At least three times a week I go to the gym. And what a lot of people don't understand, they see me nine months ago in a wheelchair, a skinny little thing, right, and they look at me now and they say "Wow, what a transformation." I feel like this is my peak. Never in my life I thought I would get like this, right. I'm a veteran, I'm an Army veteran, and even in the Army I wasn't as fit as I am now. At 64 I'm at the peak of my life right now. I feel like I'm in my 30s again. Feels great to finally live again. Breathe again. Breathe.
