Double-Lung Transplant Gave Brick Woman Second Chance At Life

BRICK, NJ — "I held onto hope every single day."

Sonia Carlen was waiting for a lung transplant and on oxygen around the clock after months of doctors' visits that ultimately led to the diagnosis of a rare lung disease.

In 2015, the Brick resident, then 27, had gone from enjoying life with her husband and planning their future to fighting every day to breathe and do basic tasks.

The disease, doctors told her, was terminal. She was told she had three to five years to live.

"To hear that news was devastating," Carlen said. "I was healthy, I never smoked, and suddenly I was being told I only had a few years to live."

As she waited for a lung transplant, she said, "I tried to stay positive. My husband, family, and friends were always my strength."

She held onto hope.

Her hopes and prayers were finally answered on April 4, 2017, when she received a double-lung transplant. The donor was 20-year-old Caitlin Nelson of Clark.

Nelson, who was studying social work and dreamed of becoming a pediatric oncology social worker, had volunteered in a number of organizations, giving time and energy to helping others.

One of the programs she gave time to was Sister Pat’s Kids Camp, where she supported children with cancer and related blood disorders. She also served as a counselor at Camp Sea Stars North, a program dedicated to supporting children from the Newtown and Sandy Hook communities following the 2012 elementary school tragedy.

That desire to help also carried through to organ donation.

"She had told me that if anything ever happened to her, she wanted to donate her organs," said her mother, Rosanne Nelson. "She’d say, 'you can’t take them with you' and someone else could use them to live on."

"That was who she was — always thinking of others, even in unimaginable circumstances," Rosanne Nelson said.

"I call Caitlin my hero and my angel," said Carlen, who is sharing her story along with the Nelsons as part of National Donate Life Month, officials with the New Jersey Sharing Network said.

"Because of her generosity and compassion for others, I am alive today," Carlen said. "There are no words that can fully express my gratitude."

In addition to her lungs, Nelson's heart, kidneys, pancreas, and liver were donated to people in need. She also donated many bone and tissue grafts, according to the New Jersey Sharing Network.

"Knowing Caitlin’s wish to donate her organs and tissue to help others brings us comfort," Rosanne Nelson said. "Even in our darkest moment, Caitlin gave others hope."

More than 100,000 Americans, including nearly 4,000 New Jersey residents, are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing and NJ Sharing Network. One organ and tissue donor can save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of more than 75 others, the organizations note.

"Organ donation gave me a second chance at life," said Carlen, who along with her family has formed close bond with the Nelsons.

"Registering as an organ and tissue donor is one of the most powerful ways to help others," Rosanne Nelson said.

More information is available at www.NJSharingNetwork.org.