It was an exciting day when I could sign up for hockey again.

After watching your dad and sister pass from the same disease you are diagnosed with, you come to accept that it is part of your life and learn to stay positive.  For four years, I had to carry a backpack with oxygen everywhere I went and got used to people staring and looking at me differently.

Receiving a lung transplant was a difficult journey physically, emotionally, and financially but I would do it over again. I’m back to doing the things I love most and making the most out of every moment.

The worst part of being diagnosed with a terminally ill disease is that you quit dreaming into the future because you know you won’t be there. I didn’t ever lose hope, but I lost my ability to dream.