Woman from Germany is grateful for double lung transplant from Northwestern Medicine this Mother's Day
Cornelia Tischmacher's lungs were failing because of advanced cancer. The 48-year-old wife and mother of twins was near death.
It had all started eight months after Tischmacher, of Berlin, gave birth to twins. The then-40-year-old went to the doctor and found out she had stage 3 lung cancer. Tischmacher did not smoke, worked out, and had a busy career as an art historian and gallerist, according to Northwestern.
Cornelia Tischmacher in July 2018, before she started chemotherapy for lung cancer.
Northwestern Medicine
Tischmacher underwent surgery and chemotherapy to eliminate her cancer in June 2018, but by October 2019, it was back. Was told palliative care with chemo and immunotherapy was the only way to stem the progression of the cancer.
By June of last year, Tischmacher could no longer breathe without oxygen. But her doctors in Germany told her about a procedure through Northwestern Medicine that could help.
A Northwestern program called DREAM, or Double Lung Transplant Registry Aimed for Lung-Limited Malignancies, allowed for patients with advanced cancers confined to the lungs to be considered for double-lung transplants.
Cornelia Tischmacher in an air ambulance from Berlin to Chicago.
Northwestern Medicine
Tischmacher flew across the Atlantic to Chicago in an air ambulance in December of last year, and then day after Christmas, she received a double lung transplant.
Nearly five months later, Tischmacher is recovering well — and describes what it felt like waking up with new, healthy lungs.
"I didn't have any brain fog or anything. I was totally aware where I am. I wanted to see what time it was, to get an idea how long it took," Tischmacher said, "and then, of course, they had told me that there would be a breathing tube. But even with it, I could tell, OK , this is — somehow I felt great."
Tischmacher said it was great finally to see her kids and her husband again. She said the kids were amazed when she told them she didn't need breathing tubes anymore.
Cornelia Tischmacher and her family in Chicago.
Northwestern Medicine
For the first time in a long time now, Tischmacher and her family can go to a museum, walk, and even go bike riding.
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