Sioux Falls man receives double lung transplant after contracting COVID-19

April 26, 2021

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Sioux Falls man has undergone a double lung transplant after suffering complications from COVID-19.

Forty two year-old Nathan Foote suffered severe pneumonia after contracting the disease in October. He suffered severe scarring in his lungs.  Doctors said he could get a double transplant or die in hospice care.

He was placed on the transplant list in February at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneaplolis and finally underwent the procedure April 10.

The surgery lasted eight hours.

Foote says he’s still in pain and he’s still eating through a feeding tube. He’s also trying to teach himself how to walk again.