GILBERT, Ariz. — A Gilbert woman received the ultimate gift this holiday season – a new chance at life.
Jamie Arango, a former champion gymnast and collegiate cheerleader, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 17.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system.
"As it progresses, it becomes a multi-organ dysfunction, "Ashwini Arjuna, a lung transplant pulmonologist at Norton Thoracic Institute said, " They have a lot of infections, multiple bouts of cough and pneumonias, they get colonized with different organisms, which become very difficult for us to treat as the disease progresses."
After years of battling the disease, Arango found herself in need of a lung transplant following the birth of her second son.
However, doctors warned her that her body might reject the transplant due to high antibody levels, fearing her body would reject the lung.
"I had been rejected from other centers before because they said it would be too difficult to find a match," Arango said. " I'd have to find that one in a million, really miracle, perfect donors."
Arango and her family moved to Phoenix from New Jersey in hopes of getting on a list to get her a lung transplant.
After a six year wait, in September of 2024, a match was finally found.
"The joy that we had in the endoscopy suite was so amazing," said Arjuna. "I still remember, it was a Miley Cyrus song playing in the background, and I asked them to crank it up. I had to pinch myself."
Arango underwent a successful surgery and is now feeling "years younger."
"My eight-year-old daughter has never seen me without oxygen," Arango said. "Now she sees me going for walks, going to the park, and just interacting with her more and playing with her like really having fun."
Although Arango does not know anything about her donor, she said she and her family give thanks every night for them.
"Every night [my children] think of the donor and their family, and they're just so happy to have their mom looking healthy," Arango said. "They said, 'Mom, we don't need gifts. We got the greatest gift there could be."
Arango said she looks forward to actively participating in Christmas traditions and
"My children are athletes, and my son is a national gymnast," Arango said. "I don't get to go to those competitions, and I'm hopeful now that maybe I could step on a plane and actually go to one and see him and cheer him on in person."
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