Beachwood mom will start the year with a new set of lungs, feeling lucky to be alive

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - Beachwood mom Johanna Henz was given a very special Christmas gift this year.

In 2017 Henz made it home for Christmas with two days to spare.

Last year Henz had been in the hospital for weeks after undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Headed home with two days left until Christmas, and the good news her transplant appeared successful Henz thought the worst was behind her.

In 2017 she enjoyed Christmas in pajamas, with french bread pizza, celebrating with her husband and two sons.

After years of feeling exhausted Henz was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome in 2015. On Dec. 5, 2017 Henz checked into the Cleveland Clinic and had a bone marrow transplant hoping to reclaim her life.

The transplant went well and she was technically in remission by March of 2018.

That month, the 44-year-old mother of two, and former director of the Lake County Free Clinic, began to have trouble breathing. Her condition worsened until doctors determined she was suffering from idiopathic pneumonia, a very rare complication of a bone marrow transplant.

It quickly became apparent Henz’s survival depended on a double lung transplant.

Henz eventually had to be put on life support and spent weeks being kept alive by machines. In June 2018 she was put on the transplant list and in an unheard of four days, was notified she would be getting the transplant.

“I wouldn’t have survived without them,” Henz said. “I stopped breathing and my heart stopped on the way to surgery, I was very close, very close.”

After one week in the hospital Henz returned home.

“I’ve had my life saved twice in the last year,” Henz reflected, “and I can’t think of anything to be more thankful for.”

Henz, who now has to avoid crowds, won’t be able to return to work. With a weakened immune system, she has to be very careful.

Now an advocate, Henz wants people to understand the importance of organ donation.

Henz doesn’t know who her donor was, but she does know it was a young woman in her twenties.

“I’m going to do right by these lungs,” Henz said, “and make sure that I get the word out.”

She says the transplant has left her with “complicated feelings.”

“I feel very sad for what their family endured,” Henz said. “I hope they know their daughter, she’s a hero to me.”

As the Christmas holiday approaches Henz has taken a reflective posture.

“I just concentrate on the most important things, our health, our happiness, our family and our ability to be together,” Henz said.

When confronting the hectic pace of the holiday Henz is inclined to say, “Just stop it, it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is to be, and just enjoy it.”

Henz knows her gift this year is her life. The organ donation advocate wants others to know how they can save lives too.

After years of fighting for her life Henz will spend Christmas with her husband, her two sons, and most likely, think about that hero who saved her life and made Christmas 2018 possible.

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