He was on the verge of a divorce when he found out his lungs were full of fluid, and he would need an oxygen tank full-time. Because he worked in maintenance, that meant he had to quit his job, and within two months, he was homeless and living in his car.
During the three months Earnest lived in his car in Monroe, Georgia, his siblings occasionally sent him money so he could get a hotel room for a night, charge up his oxygen machine and take a hot shower. Then, he was back on the street. “I was scared and depressed,” he said. “I didn’t know what my next move was going to be.”
Eventually, Earnest began receiving medical care from his local Veterans Administration (VA) hospital, and caregivers there helped him find housing. But his biggest problem remained: He had end-stage lung disease (fibrosis of the lung), and he would have to be on oxygen for the rest of his life if he didn’t receive the gift of life with a lung transplant.
Earnest underwent preliminary transplant testing at his local hospital. In the United States, there are only three VA hospitals with approved lung transplant programs, and UW Health with William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison is one.
In May 2023, Earnest participated in a telemedicine visit video call through the VA system with Erin Lowery, MD, medical director of the UW Health Lung Transplant Program.
Earnest was to undergo further transplant testing. His brother drove from Texas to Georgia to pick him up, then took him to Madison for what they thought would be just a week of testing.
But when Earnest was undergoing a stress test, he started experiencing severe breathing problems and ended up in the intensive care unit at the VA. His team quickly completed his evaluation testing and listed him for transplant. Just six days later, Earnest received his gift of life.
“I was a lot worse than I thought I was,” he said. “I figured I would just go home after the testing, but I just couldn’t make it anymore.”
Earnest received his new lungs on May 28, 2023. During his time at both UW Health’s University Hospital and the VA, he says he felt very taken care of. “My care was great at both places,” he said.
“Earnest’s care was expedited through strong collaboration between the Veteran’s Administration and our remarkable VA and UW Health transplant teams,” says Dr. James Maloney, Earnest’s transplant surgeon. “Earnest was so ill when he arrived in Madison, but he was very willing to do the hard work that is necessary to have a successful lung transplant outcome.”
Now living in Virginia with his girlfriend, Earnest is enjoying a life in which he can breathe freely again. Every day, he takes a three-mile walk with his girlfriend’s dog, named Dallas. “It’s been great,” he said. “I’ve been able to do things that I haven’t done in years. I bought a Dodge Durango, and it had been five years since I washed a car. The first time I washed my new car, it was a feeling of accomplishment.”
And his lungs have been working just fine. “I was very fortunate,” he said.