ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — A Bowman teen named Rock Riser has been hospitalized at MUSC in Charleston with a critical lung condition. He received a lung transplant on Tuesday.
“We’ve got the miracle we’ve been wanting, Rock has new lungs," said Rock's sister Brook sister.
They declare this as a milestone in Rock's recovery. He's been hospitalized for almost two months with a critical illness. Doctors diagnosed him with a chronic lung disease in December that would require him to get a lung transplant.
“When he got listed we were like yes this is exciting, but oh this is so nerve wracking," said Brooke.
His family says now, he is able to breathe on his own.
“I feel much more at ease and at peace knowing that he can finally breathe the same air that we breathe again and not be uncomfortable or short of breath," she said.
They say doctors tell them these next few days are critical as they monitor the way Rock responds to his new lungs, and they're taking things day by day. They offer their gratitude to the donor who they say gave Rock a second chance at life.
“I think we all have said we’ll look at being a donor from a different perspective just knowing that we’ll give our organs to someone if that gives them life. Just knowing if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t have Rock," said Rock's other sister Margo Riser.
For updates on Rock's story, visit the Miracle for Rock Riser Facebook page.