University of Chicago police captain has double lung transplant after suffering COVID and cancer
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A University of Chicago police captain with two new lungs is sharing his story for National Police Week.
Capt. Arthur Gillespie was the first patient at Northwestern Medicine to have a double lung transplant because one lung had been damaged from COVID-19 and another damaged by cancer.
Gillespie, 56, discovered he had lung cancer while he was being treated for a severe case of COVID-19 in 2020.
In March 2020, he was hospitalized for 12 days because of COVID, and while doctors were scanning his lungs, they discovered stage 1 cancer in his right lung.
"I had no symptoms of lung cancer, so in a way – because of COVID – we were able to catch the cancer early," Gillespie said.
After he was released from the hospital, he started chemotherapy, and in November 2020 he had surgery to remove two-thirds of his right lung. He continued physical therapy for three years, but he kept getting weaker, and needed supplemental oxygen treatments on a daily basis.
He turned to Northwestern Medicine in September 2023, and received a double lung transplant in January.
"When Arthur first came to see us in September 2023, even though he looked physically strong, he could barely speak a single sentence without getting short of breath or take a few steps before having to sit down. The pressure inside the lungs had also increased to a point that it was causing heart failure, and his only option for survival was a double-lung transplant," said Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Canning Thoracic Institute at Northwestern, who performed the transplant surgery.
Gillespie is getting stronger each day, but isn't sure if or when he can return to work. He said he hopes his story resonates with officers to remind them to prioritize their health.
"My recovery from the double-lung transplant has been easier than my recovery from lung cancer surgery," said Gillespie. "I want my story to serve as a lesson to others – especially those in law enforcement. When you're a public servant, it's easy to become distracted with the routine of the job. You're used to putting others before your own health, but we have to be equally proactive and seek a second opinion when we know something isn't right."