Look Who it Was Random video

New Lungs Allow Dad to Walk Daughter Down Aisle

372 views · Published 15 June 2017 · 2:02 · Indexed 6 November 2026

Channel: Cleveland Clinic · 2017 · Science & Technology

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Cleveland Clinic News Service - June 15, 2017

CLEVELAND - Tim Cox, 59, a pastor from North Carolina, learned his daughter was getting married while recovering from a double lung transplant.

“Oh my word…they got engaged when I was in the hospital,” said Cox. 

Cox was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2014 and his lungs had filled with scar tissue. 

When medicines failed, he was put on the transplant waiting list at Cleveland Clinic. 

“At that point he was quite, quite short of breath and was even having difficulty performing daily activities of living on his own,” said Marie Budev, D.O., MPH, of Cleveland Clinic. 

Six months later, Cox received the lungs he had been waiting for, but his journey was far from over – just ten days after the transplant, he suffered a stroke. 

“My whole right side was paralyzed and I just didn’t believe it,” said Cox.

Determined to walk his daughter down the aisle, Cox underwent rigorous physical therapy and 10 months later did just that. 

“It was not a dry eye basically,” said Cox. 

Without his donor lungs, Cox’s walk wouldn’t have been possible, a fact that wasn’t lost on his family. 

“They burned a candle up front on the stage that burned in loving memory in appreciation for our donor family,” said Cox. 

It’s been a long road recovering in Cleveland for the past year, now Cox and his wife are ready to move on. 

“Tim’s future looks bright, I’m so happy to say, we’re excited because he’s going to be returning home,” said Dr. Budev. 

This Father’s Day, Cox said he’s already received the greatest gift and looks forward to spending time with his children and grandchildren. 

“Whatever happens I know is going to happen for my best,” said Cox. “We just don’t take life for granted and the specialness of life.” 


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