Spring City resident John Silknitter, 68, is one of the first patients in the country to receive a lung transplant as a treatment for COVID-19, writes Jason Laughlin for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Silknitter’s lung suffered extensive scarring during his infection with COVID-19. It left him unable to cross the room without running out of breath.

Then a new lung became available for him in April 2021, a month after the first COVID-19 lung transplant was performed. The complicated and risky procedure was performed at Temple, and most likely saved his life.

“I can run up the stairs now,” he said. “I’m able to go hunting, able to do everything I was doing before.”

However, there have been some complications during his recovery, including unexplained incidents of an irregular heartbeat. But, soon, he expects to stay at the hospital for three days to try to determine the cause.

And despite this, Silknitter still continues to marvel at how much his health has improved.

“I think about when I do things, I think the other day I couldn’t walk across the room,” he said. “It’s like night and day.”

Read more about John Silknitter in The Philadelphia Inquirer.