Double Lung Transplant Patient Completes NYC Marathon
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Runners cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge during the New York Marathon November 7, 2010. (Reuters)
Just one year after receiving a double lung transplant, Tim Sweeney laced up his sneakers and ran almost seven hours to complete the 2010 New York City Marathon, the New York Daily News reported.
Sweeney, a 33-year-old father from Fairfield, Conn., suffers from cystic fibrosis, which is a life-threatening disorder that causes severe lung damage. In 2007, he lost 80 percent of his lung capacity. He eventually underwent the transplant at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia last year.
"It was so much more than I expected. It was overwhelming," Sweeney told the newspaper after finishing the race in just under six hours and 55 minutes. "I didn't care about time. I really wanted to finish. It meant a lot to me."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And Sweeney wasn’t alone during those grueling 26.2 miles. His surgeon, Dr. Joshua Sonett, ran with him the entire way.
"When he said he wanted to run the marathon ... I didn't know if it was the right thing,” Sonett, a five-time marathoner, told the Daily News. “But he did it, and he did it safely.”
Sweeney and Sonnet were among 43,000 runners to compete on Sunday.
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