NC double lung transplant recipient grateful to be alive

Winston Salem Journal | Brian Dukes


Peggy Winschel and her husband Ken at their home in Linden, NC. Peggy received a double lung transplant a year ago at Duke. AP Photo

LINDEN — A year after she received a lung transplant, Peggy Winschel can find the breath, but not the words, to thank the person who died to save her life.

The 58-year-old received the transplant at Duke University Medical Center on Oct. 21, 2012, after being diagnosed in 2005 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and polymyositis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a scarring or thickening of the lungs, without a known cause. It is characterized by a serious decline in lung function that is ultimately fatal.

Polymyositis is a rare inflammatory disease that leads to progressive muscle weakness and tissue damage.
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