COVID Damage: is just not the flu, the first case of immunosuppressive.

This case reported by the NY Times of a young female in her 20s contracted COVID in its most severe form. The severe cytokine storm basically obliterated her lungs requiring ECMO. Her only chance for survival was a double lung transplant which they did do at Northwestern. 

She reportedly was on an immunosuppressive. The patient's lung was removed, the whole thing is inflamed, scarred, and just yucky. The transplant surgeon Dr. Ankit Bharat, was "the sickest patient whom he had ever given a transplant".Because of all the inflammation, the lungs were " completely plastered to the tissue around them, the heart, the chest wall, and diaphragm".

This was the first case of irreversible COVID damage that was salvaged by a lung transplant in the USA. Given her young age and health status otherwise, it was worth the effort. Let's hope she recovers. 

This may not be an option for most patients, but perhaps it could save a few young healthy ones who were right place who would otherwise die if no option remained. So just in case anyone still thinks COVID is just the flu. It ain't.