PARMA, Ohio — Dec. 21 is the longest night of the year, and for Susan Craft, it began the longest battle for her life.
Two years ago today, Susan was placed on a ventilator because of COVID-19.
"I tested positive for COVID on Dec. 1 of 2021," she remembers. "I felt totally fine, and then all of a sudden, it just hit me out of nowhere."
She was infected during the omicron surge, and her condition kept getting worse.
"I wasn't sleeping, so my husband and my mom ended up calling a squad," she said. "I'll never forget that I walked to the gurney and my pulse ox was 46. They took me to the nearest hospital and I was immediately placed in the ICU; that was Dec. 10. On Dec. 21, I was put on a ventilator, and on Christmas Day I was transferred to Cleveland Clinic."
Susan was well aware her situation was dire, and before the ventilator remembers pleading with her mother.
"I just remember crying to my mom and just saying, 'I don't want to die. Do whatever you have to do to keep me alive.'"
After weeks on the ventilator, Craft was eventually weaned onto an ECMO machine that did the job of her heart and lungs. She stayed on it for five months, even learning to walk with it.
"I was in the hospital for six days short of a year in the ICU," she recalled.
Dr. Marie Budev is the medical director of one of the largest lung transplant and heart-lung transplant programs in the country at Cleveland Clinic. During the pandemic and in its aftermath, she saw several patients like Susan.
"Many people did not survive in cases like this," Budev admitted. "They either didn't get to the hospital fast enough, or hospitals that they were going to, the emergency rooms were overrun or there wasn't enough equipment available to save these individuals."
Budev credits Susan's family for their advocacy and support to help her get through the ordeal.
Like many, Susan didn't take the virus seriously — she married in the summer of 2020, didn't get vaccinated, and when she did get infected, she figured she'd get better, until she didn't.
She never thought she'd spend her 30th birthday in the hospital.
"It finally hit me when I got listed on the transplant list that I needed new lungs in order to survive," she said.
Craft wasn't the only one. Reportedly, 10% of lung transplants go to COVID patients, and Budev says long-term damage of the virus will likely require even more.
"We are still seeing patients that are presenting to our clinics that had infection back during the time when Susan had her infection and subsequently are now testing positive for having fibrotic lung disease and needing oxygen and possibly needing a lung transplant," Budev added.
Susan received a double-lung transplant in May of 2022, but was still too sick to leave the hospital. It took her six months to build the strength.
"I'm just glad I'm here. I'm a miracle," she says now. "In the Cleveland Clinic, they called me a walking miracle. I'm so lucky to be here and I can't thank my donor enough."
She just began writing her letter to the donor's family, wanting to share her story to encourage others to consider becoming organ donors so others can spend holidays with their families.
Craft is now vaccinated, because as an organ recipient she's at an increased risk and hopes others learn from her story. She also credits her husband, mother, and sister for helping her stay positive and focused. She considers the medical team her extended family, and knows she would be here without them and someone's gift of life.
"Never give up on life; not everyone gets a second chance," she says. "I would definitely say if you're not vaccinated, please, please, please go get vaccinated. It saves my life now. My donor saved my life, and I'm grateful that we have donors or I wouldn't be here today."