NY Daily News – February 21, 2015
by Lisa L. Colangelo, Thomas Tracy
A little oomph went a long way for a Queens woman who received a life-saving double lung transplant, friends said Friday.
Katy Starck Monte — whose friends started the social media campaign #oomphforkaty to raise awareness — is on the road to recovery Friday after spending nine hours in surgery, her husband, FDNY firefighter, Joe Monte said.
“She’s in and out of consciousness, but when she wakes up she can basically smile and give a thumbs up,” Monte said from his wife’s bedside at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
The 27-year-old smoke eater said that when they heard the news of a possible donor, they were “cautiously optimistic.”
They already had two dry runs this month, where they prepped for surgery, only to learn that the lungs weren’t viable.
The next 48 hours will be critical, family members said.
Joe Monte Monte said his wife is mouthing a ‘Thank you’ to her doctors. “She has a long, tough road ahead of her, but we know she will continue to fight like she always does,” Katy’s sister Christine Zammitt wrote on Facebook. “We can’t wait for her to take her first unassisted breath with her new lungs.”
Katy’s struggle drew support from people all over the country and celebrities such as Kevin Bacon and Matthew Broderick, was underway.#oo
At the same time, the couple, highlighted the desperate need for organ donors throughout the region.
Katy, 30, 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 them.
The campaign started in December to promote awareness of cystic fibrosis and organ donation as well as give her moral support.
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