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Vic teen delivers special Father's Day gift

A dad is looking forward to his best Father's Day ever, just weeks after his 15-year-old daughter received a life-saving double lung transplant.

Just a couple of months ago, Brittany Findlay could not walk down her front steps, but that was before she received two new lungs.

"I'm really happy that I've got these lungs,' she said. "I'm going to make the most out of life."

Aged three, Brittany was diagnosed with a rare lung disease, called pulmonary hypertension, in which arteries carrying blood from the heart to the lungs become narrowed.

Life-saving drugs were pumped through a tube in Brittany's chest, but she was never able to shower or play sport.

"She's never had the freedom of going and staying at friends' houses because I had to change her medicine every day," said mum Trudy.

But recently, when the drugs stopped working, Brittany received a life-saving and life-changing transplant.

The successful surgery means Brittany can now look forward to a long and healthy life.

"She's now able to walk down the street and not worry about her huffing and puffing," said dad Bill.

Brittany Findlay received a life-saving double lung transplant. Photo: 7News
Brittany Findlay received a life-saving double lung transplant. Photo: 7News

Brittany is close to both her parents but she has a special bond with dad, Bill.

"When anything went wrong, I asked him for help and he helped me as much as he could," Brittany said.

The Alfred Hospital is home to Australia's largest heart and lung transplant unit, where 108 operations are carried out every year, of those only five transplants involved children under the age of 16.

Bill says this Sunday will be a very special Father's Day.



  • For more information on how to become an organ donor, visit Donate Life website.