Lung Transplant Patient From Queens Eager To See Pooch

NY Daily News – February 22, 2015

by Thomas Tracy

When she begins breathing on her own and gets out of the hospital — after a nearly three-month stay — Katy Starck Monte has a date with her beloved shih tzu, family members said Saturday. “The first thing she is going to want to do when she gets out of the hospital is see her dog,” said her husband, Joe Monte.

The 30-year-old woman’s friends started the social media campaign #oomphforkaty to raise awareness of the Queens resident’s desperate search for a double lung transplant, which she received late Thursday.

Starck Monte remained in New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center’s ICU on Saturday, but doctors took her off a ventilator.

“She’s really been missing Chloe,” Monte said of the 7-year-old black-and-white pooch. “Her parents have been taking care of her since Katy went into the hospital and today is her 79th day here.”

She was in a lot of pain, but her spirits were high, her husband said.

“She’s in and out of sedation, but when she’s awake she wants to write to us,” said Monte, a firefighter from Engine Company 289 in Corona. “She might be on the ventilator a little longer. We’re working hard to figure out the best mix of medicines and get her breathing on her own.”

Katy Starck Monte is seen in the hospital in a Facebook photo, where supporters announced Saturday that she was off the ventilator and recovering.

Starck Monte’s struggle drew support from people all over the country, including celebrities such as Kevin Bacon and Matthew Broderick.

“Gossip Girl” actress Blake Lively visited Katy in the hospital earlier this month.

At the same time, the couple highlighted the vital need for organ donors throughout the region.

Starck Monte has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes frequent lung infections, difficulty breathing and other serious symptoms.

She received a double lung transplant in 2011, but her body has been rejecting the organs.

Before Thursday, the couple had two false starts, where Starck Monte was prepped for surgery only to learn the lungs weren’t viable.

The waiting was torture, Monte said.

“She needed (the transplant) really bad,” he said. “We didn’t know how much time she had. It was critical she received the right pair of lungs.”

As she recovers, only immediate family are allowed to visit, leaving her supporters disappointed but understanding.

But Monte suspects his wife will want to see and talk to her biggest supporters — the family of the unknown organ donor whose gift breathed life back into her body.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act prevents her from learning the donor’s identity unless the family wants to communicate with her.

“I think she’ll want to reach out and give a big thank you to the family of the person who donated the organs,” Monte said. “They saved her life.”

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