At 72 years old, Nola Harrison received a double lung transplant and a new lease on life.
“I can finally breathe again thanks to the care team at INTEGRIS Health,” Nola says.
This New Year, you can probably find Nola courtside cheering on her favorite team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. After all, she even attended game 7 of the Thunder’s championship clinching victory in 2024.
But at the time, Nola’s lung condition had drastically deteriorated and she wondered whether she might be around to see the Thunder try to repeat their magical season this year.
How it started
After years of managing asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary hypertension and worsening lung disease, Nola’s lungs had swollen and nearly doubled in size.
Each breath constricted her airways and restricted her daily life. She described the pain feeling like a strap tightening around her lungs, sitting heavy in her chest. Drawing a full breath became impossible.
Nola, a fiercely independent woman who has worked as a licensed clinical social worker for over 25 years, now found herself unable to walk to the mailbox. Getting in and out of bed or the shower became an exhausting chore. Her condition worsened until she ended up hospitalized and put on a full flow of oxygen. At 72 years old, Nola thought there were limited options available to her.
“I didn’t think at my age that a transplant was an option, but I was ready to find a solution,” Nola says. “No one at INTEGRIS Health blinked an eye at my age. Instead, my pulmonologists and surgeons provided support and encouragement.”
A life-saving transplant at any age
For Nola’s care team, age was not a factor. That includes pulmonologists Arslan Ahmad, M.D., Mark Rolfe, M.D., and cardiothoracic surgeons Daniel Freno, M.D., and Jeffery Chad Johnson, M.D. who performed the transplant.
“To be considered for lung transplant, patients have to meet a number of criteria to ensure the patient’s safety and that the operation will be a success,” says Ahmad. “Strictly speaking, advanced age alone should not be the reason to deny someone a lifesaving procedure. At Nola’s late stage of lung disease, her life was very much at risk if we did not perform the double lung transplant.”
Nola received a double lung transplant in August 2025. Her surgery and recovery have been a complete success. She’s breathing on her own with no complications and is back to walking one to two miles at least four days a week.
Since the first lung transplant in 1990, INTEGRIS Health has successfully performed more than 500 transplants. INTEGRIS Health Heart Hospital offers Oklahoma’s only lung transplant program, serving patients of all ages across the region.
“We have transplanted several older patients, including a 75-year-old and a 78-year-old,” Ahmad says. “It’s not a number like your age that matters as much as how physically strong you are, how mobile and active you are, because that will dictate how well a patient will take to surgery and be able to recover. In fact, we are among the few centers who have such a huge experience in transplanting people in their 70s and above like Nola.”
Paying it forward
Now on the other side of surgery, Nola isn’t taking her new lungs for granted. She provides education groups speaking with children and teens about the dangers of smoking and vaping, and the steps they can take to prevent chronic lung diseases. She participates in monthly support groups with other transplant patients. And she plans to celebrate her 73rd birthday this January in style, cheering on her favorite team with hope for a repeat.
“What a blessing!” Nola says. “What a blessing to have this great care team advocate for my double transplant. I’ve been blessed with a care team that has made navigating treatment, rehabilitation and recovery as seamless as possible. I’m so grateful for them and for God guiding me on this path.”
