Turned down twice for a lung transplant. Only Montefiore Einstein said YES.
IN ENGLISH: A victory against pulmonary fibrosis: Paul’s incredible comeback
The doctor’s words hit Paul Rivera hard. This wasn’t just a cold; he had pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive condition where the lungs become scarred and unable to send oxygen to the brain and heart. For Paul, a U.S. Army veteran committed to work, family, and community, learning the disease is progressive and often fatal within five years was devastating.
Paul had never smoked, yet doctors suspected years of chemical exposure on construction and HVAC jobs had irreversibly damaged his lungs. Paul would eventually need a new lung to survive. While other hospitals turned him down for a lung transplant, due to his history of coronary heart disease, only Montefiore Einstein stepped in.
“I couldn’t take two steps without stopping for breath”
When Paul developed a persistent cough in 2014, his first instinct was to ignore it and keep moving. He’s one of those guys who’s always on the go — teaching defensive driving courses, taking classes at a local college, helping out one of his Bronx neighbors, or working in his home carpentry shop. Paul’s wife, Leonida, urged him to see a doctor, but Paul recalls telling her, “Don’t worry; I think it’s just a cold.”
Finally, when his cough worsened and breathing became painful, Paul went to the emergency room at a premier Manhattan hospital. That’s where he received the devastating diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis.
The news was heartbreaking. Yet even before he’d had time to digest it, Paul faced another health challenge. “I was painting the bathroom and started sweating profusely, and my chest was hurting,” he recalls. “My wife said, ‘We’re going to the hospital,’ and they put me in the ambulance. Sure enough, they told me, ‘You just suffered a heart attack.’” Doctors then performed an emergency procedure. “Now I have a total of six stents in my heart.”
Although he healed from his heart surgery, over time Paul’s pulmonary fibrosis grew worse. Within a couple of years, he was dependent on his wife for care. “I was at a point where I was in a wheelchair because I couldn’t take two steps without stopping and losing my breath,” he says of that difficult period. “My coughing was constant.”
When Paul needed a new lung, only one hospital would save him
A lung transplant, known to improve outcomes for pulmonary fibrosis, was Paul’s only hope, but doctors at the Manhattan hospital where he was being treated refused to put him on the transplant list — twice. “They felt that because of all the stents in my heart, I would not survive,” he says. Paul was devastated, but he didn’t give up. That’s when Montefiore Einstein stepped in.
Our experts at the Advanced Lung Failure and Lung Transplant Program specialize in treating patients with complex medical issues like Paul’s. We always challenge ourselves by taking on high-risk patients — hard cases, tough cases, cases that nobody else will do. We push the envelope, and that’s because we believe in our patients and want to give them a better life and a second chance.
Paul’s new care team stuck with him through several hospitalizations while he waited on a lung transplant. “I never gave up hope,” he says. Miraculously, just a couple of months after his first appointment at Montefiore Einstein, he received life-changing news. He received a call to say, “‘We found a lung.’ This was my best day.”
Paul’s comeback
On November 13, 2020, Montefiore Einstein offered Paul Rivera a new lease on life with a lung transplant. Before the transplant, he was on so much oxygen that he couldn’t leave the hospital. He was on the brink of death. But by Thanksgiving, less than two weeks after his surgery, Paul was home with his family and breathing freely.
Since then, Paul has recovered completely. He’s earned his college degree — a lifelong dream — and discovered a new passion for physical fitness. “At least three times a week, I go to the gym,” he says. “I don’t remember being this fit in my 30s. Even in the Army, I wasn’t as fit as I am now. I think at 67 I’m at the peak of my life.”
Paul’s strength and stamina continue to impress his friends and family. As he sees it, staying in shape is a way to honor Montefiore Einstein for taking a chance on him and making his remarkable comeback possible.
“It’s one way I can show my gratitude,” he says. “What [they] gave me, I’m going to make it last as long as I can. Sometimes I feel like the doctors don’t get enough credit. But they’re the real heroes in this story.”
Montefiore Einstein has the most comprehensive lung program in the Northeast, ranking in the top 1% of all hospitals in the nation for pulmonology and lung surgery according to U.S. News & World Report.
Our Lung Transplant Program holds the highest survival rate in New York City while waiting for a lung transplant and our survival rate at one-year post-transplant exceeds the national average, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), despite treating some of the sickest patients in NYC. Additionally, we are leaders in the Northeast, performing the most combined lung–liver sequential transplants.
Montefiore Einstein’s Comprehensive Lung Program uses state-of-the-art technologies to diagnose and treat the full range of advanced lung conditions, from the benign to the malignant. At the forefront of complex care—we’re experts in the toughest-to-match cases, caring for patients other lung programs won’t take on. Our world-renowned team of pulmonologists, lung surgeons, and lung transplant surgeons treats some of the most complex cases using the latest diagnostics and procedures available, including minimally invasive surgeries. We are one of only two centers in the United States using confocal laser endomicroscopy, a technology that enables our specialists to examine transplanted lungs at the cellular level, ensuring greater transplant success. We also stand out as one of just a few hospitals in New York State employing the LungGuard Donor Lung Preservation System, the world’s most advanced lung transport technology, to enable donor lungs to travel greater distances in the best condition.
Our globally recognized researchers are dedicated to pioneering groundbreaking scientific and clinical breakthroughs that pave the way for a healthier future. We actively participate in numerous research projects spanning basic science and all stages of clinical trials, transforming scientific innovations into state-of-the-art diagnostics and therapies.
See more of Paul’s Lung Transplant story here and learn more about our Comprehensive Lung Program here or by calling (718) 920-LUNG, or 5864.
Members of the editorial and news staff of USA TODAY Network were not involved in the creation of this content.
