Oklahoma Woman Finds her Voice After Undergoing Lifesaving Double Lung Transplant at Dignity Health Norton Thoracic Institute in Phoenix

Mission to Give Other Patients Hope During Pulmonary Fibrosis Month

(PHOENIX – Sept. 30, 2025) – An Oklahoma woman is happy to be home after traveling halfway across the country  to undergo a lifesaving double lung transplant at Norton Thoracic Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix due to a progressive lung disease. After nearly losing her ability to speak due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), Debbie Frick is now committed to using her voice to give hope to other patients living with lung diseases during pulmonary fibrosis awareness month. 

“It’s impossible for me to say how much St. Joseph’s transplant team means to me without shedding a tear,” said Debbie, 73. “They are medically brilliant and exceptionally compassionate which encouraged me throughout my lung transplant journey.”

Debbie was diagnosed with IPF in 2019 and her condition progressed after she came down with a respiratory illness while living in Oklahoma City with her husband John. IPF is a serious and chronic lung disease which causes gradual scarring in the lungs making it difficult for patients to breathe over time.  In the years that followed, Debbie’s condition worsened and she soon relied on supplemental oxygen to breathe and her voice slowly withered away.

“It got to a point where I couldn’t perform daily tasks without huffing and puffing,” said Debbie. “My voice became so faint, it was hardly a whisper. I feared that I was going to lose my ability to talk, which is something I had previously taken for granted.”

In 2023, her  pulmonologist asked her  if she would consider getting a lung transplant. Despite her deteriorating condition, this question shocked Debbie and her husband because a previous pulmonologist told her she was too old for a transplant. But, after further consultation, she decided a lung transplant would give her the best chance of an improved quality of life.

Debbie was added to the lung transplant wait list in Oklahoma City in September 2024. However, after approximately four months of waiting, a family member suggested she travel to Phoenix where she could be evaluated by the renowned Norton Thoracic Institute lung transplant team.

“The average wait time for patients on Norton’s lung transplant wait list is about two weeks,” said Ashwini Arjuna, M.D., Debbie’s pulmonologist at Norton Thoracic Institute. “This is due to our large population size and diverse community, along with the skills of our transplant team to successfully procure organs and match them with recipients in a timely manner and with exceptional outcomes."  

In early February, Debbie and her husband traveled to Phoenix where she was evaluated for a lung transplant and added to Norton’s lung transplant wait list. Just ten days later, Debbie learned that she had a match and underwent a lifesaving double lung transplant performed by surgeons Michael Smith, MD; and Samad Hashimi, MD.

“The hand of God was truly over me during my transplant,” said Debbie. “ Had I undergone a lung transplant in my hometown of Oklahoma City, they would have only been able to perform a single lung transplant due the effects of my  breast cancer treatment 20 years earlier  and the scarcity of the donated organ. However, the skilled surgeons at Norton had the expertise and a generous donor provided the resources to give me the gift of two new lungs which has changed my life forever.”

Debbie spent 10 days in the hospital after her transplant where she was continuously monitored by a multidisciplinary team of pulmonologists and experts from other specialities. 

“Here at Norton Thoracic Institute, we pride ourselves on putting our patients first and creating an individualized plan of care to  help them return to a normal life outside of the hospital,” said Dr. Arjuna. “Debbie’s positive attitude and spirit played a huge role in her recovery and we are so proud to see how far she’s come.”

Today, Debbie is back home in Oklahoma City and returns to Phoenix regularly for follow up appointments with her transplant team. She and her husband have also made it their mission to share their experience with patients suffering from a variety of lung diseases.

“September is Pulmonary Fibrosis Month, and I know first hand how devastating this condition can be,” said Debbie. “But, there are so many people suffering from a variety of lung diseases and I feel that it's my calling to spread hope and good news of Norton’s transplant team who change lives every day. The care I received was exceptional and I want to use my voice to encourage others that they too can live a better life through lung transplantation and organ donation.”

Norton Thoracic Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center is the top performing program in the nation for lung transplant outcomes in a newly released ranking by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Norton earned the top spot in the national ranking by receiving the highest quality marks which evaluates metrics such as ‘one-year lung survival’, ‘getting a transplant faster’ and ‘survival on the waitlist’ on the July 2025 release.

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