IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO (KIFI)– A new set of lungs has given Audra Burgener a second chance at life. The 59-year-old Idaho Falls woman received a double lung transplant at the University of Utah Medical Center last Tuesday after her health was ravaged by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). For her and her partner, Chad Williams, who has been with her for 45 years, the journey from diagnosis to the operating table has been a grueling one, but a successful donor match earlier this year provided a ray of hope.
Burgener’s journey began in 2018, when she was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension. Then, she got COVID twice. In 2020, she was diagnosed with COPD. Her breathing continuously got worse over the course of four years since her COPD diagnosis. Ultimately, she was placed on the lung transplant list in early July.
She received a donor match on July 30th. Burgener received the transplant at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, which is the closest lung transplant organization to Idaho Falls.
Her partner, Chad Williams, described the team of doctors at the Medical Center as “miracle workers”.
Burgener is now recovering at the University Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit, but the fight is not over.
“She’ll be released in two to six weeks, and then we’re going to have to be available through the week to just keep monitoring and making sure that the body is doing what it should be doing. And that will last a minimum of two more months, and can drag out to possibly six months. So total time spent here in Utah could go up to six months,” Williams said.
As a Certified Nursing Assistant, Burgener has devoted her life to taking care of the elderly. She enjoys the outdoors, especially gardening.
“She’s one of the most sweetest and caring humans I’ve ever known,” Williams said.
The family is raising money to pay for hospital expenses, as well as the costs of travelling to the hospital in Utah. To donate, click HERE.
