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Morgan Yoney, double lung transplant survivor, loses fight to cystic fibrosis

6 min read
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Courtesy of Tammy Yoney

Tammy Yoney, left, of Spraggs, and her daughter, Morgan Yoney, wait in UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for kidney transplant surgery in this photo from 2017.

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Photo courtesy of Tammy Yoney

Morgan Yoney holds a lungs-shaped pillow that was signed by her surgeon after she received her double lung transplant in December 2016 at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh.

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Photo courtesy of Tammy Yoney

Morgan Yoney, then 22, holds her 2-month-old niece, Jillian Morgan Dickerson, while at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh in this photo from 2016.

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Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter

Morgan Yoney is shown with her father, Robert Yoney, in 2016 while he gives blood in her honor.

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Katie Anderson / Observer-Reporter

From left, Bob Yoney, his wife, Tammy, and their daughter, Morgan, in this photo from 2016

Morgan Yoney, the spirited double lung transplant survivor from Spraggs, passed away Tuesday night, her family announced on Facebook.

Yoney was 29.

“It’s crazy how far I’ve come, considering my parents were told I wouldn’t live past 18 when I was diagnosed,” Yoney posted to her Facebook May 3, two days before her 29th birthday. “Thank you for the continued thoughts and prayers you all send my way!”

For years, Yoney has inspired people from Greene County and beyond with her strong will and positive outlook on life. At 9 months of age, Yoney was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that clogs the lungs and digestive system. The disease often results in liver and lung transplants.

The first 12 years of her life were normal: Yoney attended school in the Central Greene School District and formed friendships. At 12, she began having trouble breathing, coughing excessively and developed liver, kidney and pancreas issues.

She had her first double lung transplant at age 15.

That year, she also had a liver transplant.

Yoney kept her family, friends and the greater community up-to-date on her health through Morgan’s Army Facebook page, where she shared the trials and tribulations of life with cystic fibrosis and amassed a large following of supporters.

Those supporters took inspiration from and cheered her on around the globe, and rallied around Yoney when she needed prayers – and a second lung donor.

After spending ninth and 10th grade as a home-school student, Yoney graduated with her class from Central Greene in 2012 and headed off to Slippery Rock University. Near the end of freshman year, her body rejected her lungs.

“I was so sick at that point that I just didn’t even care that I wasn’t going to finish school,” Yoney told the Observer-Reporter in 2016.

For years, Yoney was on the transplant wait list. Her family members, friends and followers donated to the Morgan’s Army GoFundMe to help offset her family’s medical costs. Waynesburg police decorated their vehicles in messages asking for an O+ lung donor; Yoney appeared on local news asking for a donor and raising awareness of organ donation, and people made signs or sent words of encouragement online.

There were moments when the Yoney family thought Morgan might be removed from the waitlist, because she felt too sick to undergo the grueling surgery.

But in December 2016, after more than two years on the waitlist, Yoney received her second double lung transplant at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.

“This is what we’ve been praying for – a Christmas miracle,” Tammy Yoney told the O-R at the time. “Hopefully this will give her a long and happy life.”

In 2017, Yoney received a life-saving kidney donation from her mother.

And she did live a happy life.

Despite frequent hospital stays (“Fun fact,” she wrote to Facebook in 2018, “I have spent every holiday in the hospital at least 2 times, and spent my 19th birthday in the hospital”), dialysis and a full year living with a tracheotomy, Yoney lived life to the fullest and gave back any way she could. Each year, Yoney and her family collected blanket donations to distribute on Christmas Eve to adults at UPMC, the VA and other local places.

“We couldn’t do this every year without the help of everyone who donates blankets, thank you so so much,” Yoney posted to Facebook last December.

She also shared fundraisers and GoFundMe’s for friends with CF or other illnesses; when her sorority sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Yoney spread the word to Morgan’s Army to raise money for her friend’s medical bills.

Yoney enjoyed fishing with her father, Bob Yoney, and spending time with her mother Tammy, sister Megan Dickerson and nieces (a photo of Yoney cuddling 2-month-old Jillian Morgan Dickerson following her second double lung transplant was often shared online), and her boyfriend, Andy Franko.

Yoney had a large circle of friends with whom she delighted in hanging out. She often shared photos of herself with friends and family at holidays or at the beach.

“Today was one of the best days,” Yoney wrote on Facebook in October 2017. “I have been pretty sick lately … but despite all that, I was still able to spend the weekend with my amazing family! We went to dinner at Angelo’s, Dan and Steven stayed over, and I got to show them one of my very favorite places, Coopers Rock! I was able to climb up, down, around trails and boulders with no problem at all! I haven’t been able to do that in I don’t know how long! It just blows my mind that almost 10 months ago I was struggling to take each and every breath never knowing if it would be my last.”

For Yoney, every breath counted, and served as inspiration to those seeking hope.

“Morgan taught us all how to live life to the fullest,” Paula Miles wrote Wednesday on the Morgan’s Army Facebook page. “She touched my heart in so many ways, and while I know she is breathing unencumbered, the world feels much less kind.”

“… she’s an inspiration to many people and a legend in her own right,” Ariel Henry shared in a Facebook comment.

Yoney’s family told the Observer-Reporter Wednesday, “We want to say thank you for all the continued love and support from everyone who has prayed and been with us this entire journey.”

That love and support, those prayers kept Morgan Yoney going. She selflessly shared glimpses of her life with others on Facebook, and gave love and support back tenfold online and in person.

On Dec. 15, 2018, she wrote on Facebook, “Thank you to everyone who reached out to me today! A lot has happened in the last 5 years, some bad, scary, but a whole lot of amazing! I wouldn’t be here today without any of my donors, I am grateful for every single day.”

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