The Brief
- A handyman and grandfather of 14 children celebrated his one-year lung transplant anniversary after previously being unable to walk down the hallway.
- The patient was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at age 60, which eventually left him unable to work or walk and talk.
- The surgical team at Mayo Clinic successfully treated 11 patients during the first year of its newly established Arizona lung transplant program.
PHOENIX – It is hard to believe that just one year ago, a walk down the hall was not possible for 68-year-old Craig Scherer, a handyman and grandfather to 14 children.
The backstory:
“Imagine this: I was very physically fit,” Scherer said. “I was a carpet installer. I’d pick up 100 pounds, 80 pounds on my shoulders, and go upstairs with it to where my final days before my transplant I could walk 15 feet with oxygen and I’d have to stop before I could take a break.”…