Name: Singing after a double lung transplant
Uploaded: 2011-01-18T16:33:00Z
Duration: 17 min 48 s
Description: You'll never sing again, said her doctor. But in a story from the very edge of medical possibility, operatic soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick tells a double story of survival -- of her body, from a double lung transplant, and of her spirit, fueled by an unwavering will to sing. A powerful story from TEDMED 2010.

You'll never sing again, said her doctor. But in a story from the very edge of medical possibility, operatic soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick tells a double story of survival -- of her body, from a double lung transplant, and of her spirit, fueled by an unwavering will to sing. A powerful story from TEDMED 2010.

Singing after a double lung transplant

Determination to sing propelled one woman through a double lung transplant, months in a coma, and near-certain death from pulmonary hypertension. Even after her heart swelled to three times the normal size and doctors said her career was over, music offered hope and purpose. Intensive treatments and a risky operation threatened her voice but could not silence her drive to reclaim life. Her journey shows that honoring passion can transform suffering into resilience and joy.