“I Was Being Suffocated Every Minute” – 26-Year-Old Battles Through Adversaries of Life-Altering Lung Transplant With Climbing Trip Aside Marathon Glory

A road to success can often be through hardships, but what happens when the fight is against physical constraints? Heralded as a beacon of hope and resilience, a young lady from Chelmsford has emerged victorious, winning her personal and medical battles alike. With a severe diagnosis and transplant history, the 26-year-old boldly embraced an array of daring trips. 

Georgie Cooper has witnessed the suffocating grip of cystic fibrosis since her childhood, resulting in a subsequent lung transplant surgery. Enduring a rollercoaster of life-threatening risks, Cooper defied all odds with her climbing conquest across Snowdown in 2022. And if that was not enough, her latest running plan earned excellence beyond imagination! 

Insufferable battles for breath

In a miraculous tale of persistence, Cooper came victorious after suffering the symptoms of CF, a condition enveloping her life since the tender age of two. Evidently, it caused her lungs and digestive system to accumulate thick mucus, forcing her to seek help from nebulizers. Having to rely on machines for each breath, the climbing lover’s daily routine depicted her managing a steady lung function of 70 to 80 percent for several years. 

However, the grim arrival of 2018 marked another devastating decline, plunging her lung capacity to a dire 9%. Moving through incessant hospital visits, Cooper was tethered to 24-hour oxygen with a brutal confinement to her wheelchair. Considering the fateful descent, her doctors declared a bleak two-year life expectancy, urging the climbing enthusiast to contemplate undergoing a double lung transplant. 

Climbing life’s hurdles with willpower 

The saga intensified with Georgie’s long wait on the transplant list, peppered with three heart-wrenching false alarms. As the much-awaited fourth call arrived as a lifeline, it offered her a second chance at life. A successful surgery was conducted at Harefield Hospital in June 2021, moments before the dire prognosis of a mere two weeks left. 

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Recalling the dreadful phase, the climbing embracer stated, “It felt like constant suffocation”, adding, “Like I was being suffocated every minute, every second of every day.” Significantly, Cooper’s post-transplant endeavors painted her determined valor, as she scaled Snowdon, climbing atop the tallest peak in Wales last year. Adding to her athletic epitome, she even ran past the finish line at the Bath Half Marathon, held in October 2023. 

Emphasizing her gratitude towards the empathetic honor, Georgie Cooper emotionally named the anonymous angel as her greatest hero. Beyond her monumental physical battles, the young girl’s audacious tale of climbing and running symbolized the tenacity of the human will. Her life, once teetering on the edge of unforgiving hazards, now blossoms with the vibrant colors of a hopeful future. 

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