Grayslake man an inspiration in lung transplant milestone.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), September, 2006 | by Byers, Christine

Byline: Christine Byers Daily Herald Staff Writer Statistics showing guys like Larry Smith have unfavorable odds of living five more years don't seem to bother the Elgin man - especially when someone like Jim Leman of Grayslake is sitting next to him. Both men joined Jerry Poch of Joliet Wednesday, who became Loyola University Medical Center's 500th lung transplant patient.

Only six other hospitals in the country have performed 500 lung transplants. Poch, 58, the rookie of the bunch, received a double lung transplant in August. Loyola's statistics suggest he will have a 76 percent chance of surviving the first three years after the surgery. The national average is 66 percent. Smith, 56, received his single-lung transplant in November. Research...