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Former South Jersey firefighter celebrates major health milestone

By
Stephanie Stahl
Stephanie Stahl
Stephanie Stahl is an Emmy Award-winning health reporter. She can be seen daily on CBS News Philadelphia and Philly57.
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Stephanie Stahl

/ CBS Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Lung transplant surgery has come a long way. Thirty years ago it was just starting, now one of the first patients at Penn Medicine says he feels lucky and grateful.

"I was in great physical shape. I was a firefighter, played baseball, hockey and basketball," Mike Marinelli said.

At age 34 Mike Marinelli, who lived in South Jersey, was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension.

A lung transplant was the only way to save his life. This was back in 1993.

"They told Judy at one point I wasn't going to live through the night," Marinelli said.

Judy, Marinelli's wife, watched as her husband's first transplant failed. A year later he had a second one.

"He makes it through everything," Judy said.

Now Marinelli and his wife live in South Carolina and are celebrating his 30th anniversary with a special guest over a Zoom reunion.

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CBS News Philadelphia.

Dr. Jason Christie was Mike's pulmonologist at Penn Medicine.

"You kept me alive for all this time," Marinelli told Christie. "If it wasn't for you and Judy, nah, there wouldn't be no me right now."

Surviving three decades after two lung transplants is incredibly rare.

"What we knew then compared to what we know now, everything has improved so much over time," Christie said.

Christie said Mike's case inspired him to specialize in lung transplants and he formed a special bond with the Marinelli's.

"To see Mike live the life that he's lived," means the world to Christie.

It's emotional seeing what happens when you save someone's life.

"I got to walk my daughter down the aisle," Marinelli said. "I got to see four grandkids grow up."

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There's another special connection here. It's another friendship that started at Penn Medicine, except this is between Marinelli and the nurse who took care of him 30 years ago.

"I took care of him for a while and now he just won't go away," Kathy Ritchie joked.

The families are now vacationing together and celebrating how they beat the odds.

Marinelli doesn't take any of it for granted.

"I'm incredibly grateful and forever grateful," Marinelli said.

It's unclear what caused Marinelli's pulmonary hypertension; his first symptom was shortness of breath.

He says he's looking forward to celebrating many more transplant anniversaries.

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