Joshua Abelson, a 63-year-old aviation sales and supply chain professional, has faced numerous health challenges with remarkable resilience. Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Joshua now resides in Jacksonville, Florida, where he continues to inspire others with his story.

Joshua's transplant journey began in 2009 when he first noticed symptoms that led to a diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (ILD), specifically pulmonary fibrosis, after numerous X-rays and scans. This diagnosis marked the start of a long and arduous battle with his health.

After his initial diagnosis, Joshua says, "Nothing really changed, and I was living my normal life, traveling the world for business, playing golf regularly and taking my wife dancing."

In 2016, Joshua experienced a spontaneous pneumothorax in his left lung, which required a 10-day hospital stay to reinflate and stabilize his lung. The incident was a significant setback, but Joshua's determination never wavered. "After that, I resumed my normal activities again," he says.

Early 2020 brought another challenge when Joshua and several colleagues fell ill after a business trip to China. "I got sick, and while we weren't testing for COVID-19 yet, I believe I may have had it," he says. The illness further compromised his already fragile lungs. "After that, my lung function began decreasing, and I found I could not fly without supplemental oxygen," he says.

In mid-2021, Joshua suffered a gallbladder attack and was hospitalized again. During this time, he was diagnosed with COVID-19, which further deteriorated his lung function, leading him to regularly rely on portable oxygen.

Despite those setbacks, Joshua and his wife moved to Jacksonville in late November 2023 for work. However, during a holiday visit to Texas in December 2023, he contracted pneumonia and spent several days in a Texas hospital.

Upon arriving back to Jacksonville, he made the decision to seek care at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Living in Jacksonville, we knew we had two potential choices," says Joshua. "After doing our research and praying about it, we chose Mayo. I had my initial consultations. Everyone agreed I was a candidate, and the evaluation process started." After a thorough evaluation, he was added to the lung transplant waitlist.

"We feel that a patient's quality of life will improve significantly after transplant," says Dr. Maher Baz, division chair of Lung Failure and Transplantation at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Because they're no longer on oxygen, they can be out and about, they can walk farther, they can go vacations and improve their survival."

Joshua received his lung transplant in August 2024. The lungs he received underwent ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) technology in which donor lungs are flushed and ventilated while being monitored in isolation. This process allows transplant programs to reevaluate lungs that would otherwise have been discarded. In collaboration with United Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic in Florida introduced EVLP to its campus in 2019.

"We have something called ex vivo lung perfusion, or EVLP," says Dr. Baz. "It is a setup where we put the donated lungs on a breathing machine and we circulate fluid in them. We test them for about three to four hours to make sure that they are good lungs. And that has increased our yield for transplantation. The benefit to the patient is a shorter waiting time because now we are identifying organs at a higher rate by using EVLP."

Today, Joshua's health has improved, and he dedicates his time to promoting organ donation awareness and supporting others on similar transplant journeys. "I feel great, and I am incredibly blessed," says Joshua. "I am in an international Facebook support group for patients and caregivers, so I have heard many stories of people who have had, and continue to have, issues from their transplant, meds and underlying conditions. I have not had any setbacks at this point. I think it's important to stress the need for prehab and rehab. Mayo provided a great opportunity for me to do both, which got me in the best shape possible before my transplant and made my recovery easier."

His story is a testament to the power of resilience and the importance of organ donation. Joshua's journey continues to inspire and offer hope to others facing similar health challenges. "I contacted Donate Life Florida and have now become a registered volunteer to promote organ donation awareness," he says.

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