Teen Lung Transplant Patient Returns Home After 156 Days In ICU As Children’s Organ Transplant Association Helps

Teen Lily Lee Returns Home After Life-Saving lung transplant Following 156 Days In ICU

USA: Sixteen-year-old Lily Lee has returned to Arkansas after receiving a lung transplant in St. Louis on December 18, following weeks on a transplant waiting list. The surgery and subsequent care required an extended hospital stay: she spent 156 days in an intensive care unit before being discharged to continue recovery closer to home.

Lily’s mother, Ashley Way, accompanied her through the ordeal. Medical teams initially kept Lily unconscious for a prolonged period after the operation, and her road to recovery was described by the family as difficult and incremental. By the beginning of the new year she was once again walking, talking, and breathing more easily, milestones that marked visible progress after the transplantation.

Her school and local community mounted fundraisers and provided moral support throughout the crisis, and the children’s Organ Transplant Association stepped in to help the family manage mounting expenses. That network of support was instrumental in allowing the family to focus on Lily’s medical needs rather than financial strain.

Before surgery, physicians had warned Lily that completing her junior year might not be possible given her fragile condition. After the months-long recovery, she could be returning to school in January as she continues follow-up care and rehabilitation related to her lung transplant and overall recovery.

Video originally published on 2026-05-07 10:57:47