When Michael Love woke up groggy from his lung transplant surgery in 2015, he instinctively felt his nose for the cannula that had delivered life-sustaining oxygen for the previous six months.
It wasn’t there.
“I started crying,” the Gift of Life Michigan volunteer recalled. “They had to give me a new gown because I completely soaked the top half. I was breathing on my own!”
His transplant went well, but two years later a bout of double pneumonia damaged his new lungs, and Michael needed a second transplant.
He now also volunteers with Henry Ford Hospital’s Comunidad viva de trasplante, in addition to Gift of Life. He shares the good and the challenging aspects of the transplant experience as he mentors lung transplant patients in Detroit. Michael offers support to patients who are sick, stressed and hoping for a miracle — hoping for a generous donor to save their lives.
“I’ll come in and tell you what I’ve been through,” said Michael, whose lungs were damaged by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease that causes severe scarring, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
“It’s not like talking to your doctor,” Michael said. “They give you the clinical perspective. I give you the real-life perspective.”
Dietary changes. Shower seats. Wearing a mask in public. Asking for help.
The simple act of walking into their room — strong, healthy, smiling — brings much-needed hope.
“They say, ‘My goodness, you look amazing! I can be like you, right?’”
Sure, he tells them. He answers their questions, eases fears, shares helpful recovery tips.
“I tell them, ‘If you decide to do this, you can do it,’” Michael said.
“I eliminate their fears and that’s so rewarding,” said Michael, a retired General Motors pipe fitter. “You can literally see their lights come on — they’re no longer in the dark about things.”
As a volunteer with Gift of Life, Michael encourages people to sign up on the Registro de donantes de órganos de Michigan. He speaks at events, dispelling myths and explaining the donation process, hoping for more donors. He brings the message of organ donation to minority communities by volunteering with the Fundación Detroit MOTTEP.
“Every time somebody dies, somebody should come off that transplant list,” Michael said. “Nobody should die waiting for an organ transplant.”
Gift of Life invited Michael to attend Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2023 signing of the Check Your Heart Act, which placed the Donor Registry question on state income tax forms for the first time.
“I got to thank the senators who put the bill together,” Michael said.
“This transplant process has blessed me so much,” he said. “Even after the first transplant, I felt like a walking miracle. Then I got another chance. I want to turn this tragedy of needing two transplants into a blessing for other people.”
