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She could barely walk; now she can fly

After a double lung transplant last year, Brittany Morgan returns to school in Pasco County and has big plans for life.

By MICHELE MILLER
Published November 18, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - It was Friday night lights all the way at Ridgewood High. The Rams were warming up on the field as Sweet Home Alabama blared from the speakers.

The smell of grilling burgers floated through the stadium on a brisk, cold evening that had die-hards huddling together and lining up to buy hot chocolate.

Along the sidelines, 18-year-old Brittany Morgan was ready to fly.

The 5-foot-1, 90-pound varsity cheerleader would be hoisted high and tossed up, then she'd drop into the arms of three teammates.

The stunt isn't particularly difficult. But it scares the wits out of coach Amy Kelly.

"She has no fear," Kelly said. "She thinks she's made of steel."

Certainly her determination is.

When she was 18 months old, Morgan was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that causes the body to produce a thick mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to frequent and sometimes fatal lung infections. Cheerleading seemed like a long shot.

"A lot of people didn't think I could do it," Morgan said. "They didn't think I'd have the stamina to cheer."

But that's long been her dream, topping her list of things to do after she got a double lung transplant in late August 2005.

"I want to run around and cheer," Morgan told the Times before her surgery.

"I want to be a surgeon. I want a Lamborghini that I won't ever trade in - even when I have kids. I want a 10-bedroom mansion and a back yard filled with animals. I probably won't get the big mansion, but my mom will come live with me."

Hurricane Katrina was blowing through the Gulf of Mexico and Brittany Morgan was dying in the intensive care unit at All Children's Hospital when her mom, Kathy Sebzda, got the news that a pair of lungs was available at Shands at the University of Florida.

It was, she said, a miracle.

It has been a long, tough road since then. Morgan has had pneumonia and three bouts with acute organ rejection, and she still deals with chronic rejection that could land her back on the transplant list.

Since the transplant, Morgan has traveled to Shands for checkups and other procedures. The day after Mother's Day, Morgan's vision became clouded because of CF-induced diabetes.

"That was scary because I didn't think it was going to come back," Morgan said. It did - after three weeks.

These days Morgan is mostly feeling good and adapting well to a life where she's not bound to an oxygen tank.

"I'd been on oxygen for two years," she said.

"When they first took the oxygen away, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt short of breath. But it was psychological. I was so accustomed to not being able to breathe."

And she's now doing things that normal kids do, said Sebzda, adding that while her daughter cannot yet run, "she can keep up with us when we're at the mall."

Morgan also got her driver's license and a new boyfriend, Justin Burris, 21.

She celebrated her 18th birthday on July 19, so now she has to sign all those medical forms herself.

And after two years of being taught by a homebound teacher from Ridgewood, Morgan returned to school in August as a senior.

"It's been overwhelming," Morgan said.

"It's been tough adapting to school - the hours and the bus ride. My grades go down really low, then I have to work to get them back up again. Last quarter I got 4 A's, a B and a high C. I made honor roll."

Then there's the FCAT.

"I passed the math but I haven't been able to pass the reading part," Morgan said. "I need to do that to graduate. Passing it is really challenging."

Still, cheering has been a real pick-me-up for Morgan, in more ways than one.

"I feel like I've gotten the social aspect of my life back," she said.

She still has her sights set on being a pulmonary surgeon or maybe doing research to find a cure for cystic fibrosis.

Then there's Australia to see.

In the meantime, Morgan is looking forward to being maid of honor in her sister Beth's wedding in March; graduating in May; and getting through a surgery scheduled at the end of this month to close the hole where her feeding tube once was.

"She's been through a lot," said her mother. "But we lived to tell about it. She's not out of the woods till she makes five years posttransplant. But she has a new quality of life. That was the goal."

And, of course, as a Ridgewood High School cheerleader, now she can fly.

Michele Miller can be reached in west Pasco at (727) 869-6251 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6251. Her e-mail is miller@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 17, 2006, 22:45:01]