Tulsa firefighter gets life-saving surgery in Phoenix after COVID battle

PHOENIX – A 44-year-old firefighter and father of four from Oklahoma is now recovering after a life-saving procedure in the Valley.

“I found my way to Arizona after they realized my lungs were unrepairable,” Randy Blake told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

He received a double lung transplant in January at Norton Thoracic Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix after a battle with COVID-19.

Following four months of hospitalization, Captain Blake continues to make a remarkable recovery.

Blake was first admitted to the hospital in his hometown of Stillwater, Okla., after contracting COVID-19 in October.

After he spent nearly a week in the ICU, he was transferred to Oklahoma Heart Institute in Tulsa.

Prior to his COVID-19 battle, the Stillwater Fire Department Captain was healthy and made it a point to take good care of himself for the sake of his job and family.

“I was a healthy 44-year-old guy with no preexisting conditions, I was in good shape and then I got COVID and it took me down,” Blake said.

Blake spent two-and-a-half months hospitalized in Tulsa on a ventilator while receiving ECMO therapy.

ECMO is described as an artificial lung that oxygenates the blood and is often used to help support patients while their lungs recover.

He also had a tracheotomy and underwent several procedures to treat blood clots that had formed as a result of the infection.

Blake improved enough to come off of ECMO in December, but the damage caused by COVID-19 to his lungs was so severe he needed a lung transplant to survive.

That’s when his doctors in Oklahoma told him and his wife, Jenn, about the program in Phoenix at St. Joseph’s Norton Thoracic Institute.

They flew to St. Joseph’s – the third program in the country to perform a lung transplant following lung damage from COVID-19.

Blake’s case is the fourth post-COVID-19 lung transplant to take place at St. Joseph’s.

“I got my new set of lungs and I’ve just been rehabilitating and learning how to live life again with a new set of lungs and a second chance,” Blake added.

TULSA TO PHX: A 44-year-old father of four and fire captain is recovering from a double lung transplant after a battle with #COVID19. With no preexisting health conditions, Randy Blake is the fourth post-COVID-19 lung transplant at @DignityHealthAZ St. Joseph’s Hospital in PHX. pic.twitter.com/O6WPtKXEXC

— Ali Vetnar (@Ali_Vetnar) March 3, 2021

Hospitalized for roughly four months, Blake lost over 50 pounds.

Focused on that second chance, he spent two weeks in St. Joseph’s Barrow Neurological Institute Neuro-Rehabilitation Center to retrain his muscles and relearn what most would consider basic tasks.

Blake and his wife will remain in Phoenix for the next few months as he continues rehabilitation following his procedure. He looks forward to getting home and spending time with his four kids and wife in Oklahoma.

He is unsure if he will go back to work on a firetruck.

“I’d love to go back to being a firefighter, but I don’t know if new lungs and that job are going to go well together so we’ll just have to wait and see,” Blake said.

The humble first responder hopes his story encourages others to never lose hope.

Blake described being at the end of his rope, but he continued to fight for his wife and children.

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