Shilpa Raju has overcome a lot in her life. There was her cancer diagnosis, a double lung transplant, a second cancer, and even a kidney transplant.
For a long time, it looked like she would never be able to enjoy the things in life that others take for granted — pursuing a career, having a partner, traveling and planning a future. And simply being able to walk without struggling to catch her breath.
But thanks to the innovations and excellent care she received at UHN — Canada’s number one hospital – Shilpa is now able to enjoy all that, and more.
“I would never have come this far without them,” Shilpa said, adding that she feels extremely fortunate for regaining her health, and being able to enjoy life again, thanks to one of the country’s top hospitals. “I’m so grateful for UHN’s support to help bring me to where I am and want to give back.”
In 2007, Shilpa was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and treated with chemotherapy and radiation. Unfortunately, the treatment also damaged her lungs, causing a condition called pulmonary fibrosis. And that’s when Shilpa’s journey with UHN began.
In 2009, she started attending Toronto General’s lung clinic where doctors could closely monitor her lung function. As Shilpa’s breathing became more difficult, making her less and less able to stay active let alone walk a few steps without feeling winded, doctors suggested supplemental oxygen and to start thinking about a transplant.
In 2012, after nearly a year officially on the waitlist — and three days before her 26th birthday — Shilpa had a double lung transplant at UHN. No one knew when she would get the call for lungs but luckily that year, three of her friends planned three different surprise celebrations before her birthday. With the transplant, there was even more to celebrate: “I was still out of it, but they also had a party for me on the day of my birthday, decorating my ICU room, and bringing cupcakes for everyone around.”
To evaluate and ready the donor lungs, UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre team used a technology known as the Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System, a UHN-developed innovation which has enabled them to perform more lung transplants than anywhere in the world since 2008.
Though the transplant saved her life, Shilpa developed several complications over the following year, including a post-transplant lymphoma related to the immunosuppression. But with the care and expertise of the experienced UHN team, bigger and bigger steps were starting to be made in her health journey, and she recovered.
Shilpa enjoyed stable health over the next few years, barely even catching a cold. At a friend’s wedding in Houston, Texas, she also found love, meeting her future husband. “It was a complete fluke, I wasn’t expecting to meet anybody.” Their shared love of travel led to many adventures: safari in Tanzania, glacier hike in Iceland, houseboat in India, and step by step, even hiking several national parks in Canada and the U.S.
They married in 2018 and continued to travel whenever they could, until Shilpa had another setback in 2021.
“Over time, my kidneys took a hit from the immunosuppression,” she said. Her kidneys were failing and she needed a new one. While waiting, she was able to do hemodialysis at home, through Toronto General’s home hemodialysis program.
“The team is amazing, and home hemodialysis was a gamechanger for me, letting me continue to work and have a social life while going through the work-up and waiting for the transplant,” she said. Even with this health setback, Shilpa and her husband were still able to complete the five-kilometre Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October 2022, celebrating her 10 year lung transplant anniversary.
Her husband wasn’t only her true love, he was also a match to be her kidney donor. Shilpa had the transplant just over a year ago, and this time it was complication free.
“It was a dream — everything went exactly according to how we were told it would for both of us. I was eating a few hours post-op, walking the next day, and we were out of the hospital a few days later,” she said. “The staff and nurses here are incredible, particularly the transplant team. I may be partial because I’ve spent so much time in that ward, but they’ve always been so wonderful.”
To say thank you for the care she received at UHN through the years, this spring Shilpa will be participating in We Walk UHNITED presented by Rogers. This new fundraiser includes a five-kilometre walk followed by a celebratory event outside UHN’s Toronto General Hospital, where Shilpa took the first steps in her journey to health.
Donor support is critical to helping UHN recruit the best medical talent, develop new treatments for disease, and maintain the excellence in patient care that give patients like Shilpa the chance to lead a full and active life.
Join Shilpa and register for We Walk UHNITED at wewalkUHNITED.ca
This article originally appeared in the Toronto Star, read it here.
