This month, two Florida athletes and LifeLink of Florida volunteers, Sarah Housman and Steve Bradley, will represent Team USA at the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany. But for both, the medals aren’t their greatest victories.
Housman and Bradley are transplant recipients who faced life-threatening illnesses and underwent major organ transplants. Now, they’re turning their second chances into powerful stories of purpose, healing and hope.
Steve Bradley, 64, grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, N.Y., as one of nine children. When his brother died suddenly from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic condition that thickens the heart muscle and affects its ability to pump blood, Bradley realized the disease ran in his family. About 50% of first-degree relatives may carry the gene. While many remain asymptomatic, HCM can lead to sudden cardiac death or heart failure in a small but serious percentage of cases.
A lifelong athlete and triathlete, Bradley never imagined his greatest challenge would come from within. He was diagnosed with HCM 20 years ago.
“I subconsciously compartmentalized my disease as it progressed,” Bradley said.
But at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020, he found himself unable to walk across the street. He knew the situation was serious. After extensive testing and studies, doctors told him a heart transplant was his only option.
On Friday, Aug. 13, 2021, he received the call: A donor heart was available at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, F.L. Nine days after surgery, Bradley walked out of the hospital with a new heart and a new mission: to honor the gift he’d been given. Six months later, he completed his first post-transplant 5K.
Today, he volunteers with LifeLink of Florida, sharing his story and raising awareness about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation through community outreach and speaking engagements.
Sarah Housman’s story rings with the same spirit of perseverance. She underwent not one, but two double-lung transplants in just a few years. Born with cystic fibrosis, Housman lived a relatively normal childhood, attending public school, playing sports and participating in extracurricular activities, while managing daily nebulizer and respiratory treatments.
Her lungs began to deteriorate in graduate school due to chronic infections. At 27, her doctor recommended a transplant and advised her to stop working, as her condition had significantly progressed. After two “dry runs,” when anticipated donor lungs were suddenly deemed unavailable, she finally received her first lung transplant in 2019.
“I remember driving and riding home, feeling like the rest of the world stayed still for those few hours. It’s such a crash [a huge realization], knowing your life isn’t about to change,” Housman said.
Her new lungs allowed her to live the life she longed for, until she contracted COVID-19 in January 2022. Over the next year and a half, her lung function plummeted from 90% to just 17%. She received her second lung transplant in 2023.
In addition to competing, Sarah is excited for the chance to travel for the games. “I love to travel, and when I was really sick, I had the chance to prior to going into advanced lung disease,” Houseman said. “This feels like a two-for-one: an incredible opportunity…. and great excuse to check out Germany.”
Taking the World Stage
The World Transplant Games, held this year in Dresden, bring together more than 2,000 athletes from over 60 countries. Every competitor is either a transplant recipient, living donor or donor family. Every race, match and event is a celebration of life.
Bradley and Housman will be first-time competitors at the Games. While Bradley previously participated in the Transplant Games of America, this marks his international debut. Housman will compete in swimming events, a demanding choice for someone who’s endured two lung transplants, but a challenge she’s embracing.
“I wanted to do something that also helped recover and build my lungs,” Housman said.
Bradley will compete in track and field and cycling events, a natural fit for the former triathlete.
“I’m very aware of my gift of life, so anything I can do to give back and compete, I’m all in,” he said.
Their journey to Dresden is the culmination of years of healing, perseverance and gratitude. They’ll travel alongside other Team USA members, most of whom also are transplant recipients, united by their shared experiences and a mission to promote organ donation awareness.
Their participation is a tribute to their donors, a testament to resilience and a powerful reminder that life after transplant can be vibrant and full of purpose.
“I love being able to compete, whatever that looks like so the opportunity to get back to it means a lot to me,” Bradley said. “The day registration opened, and the news was announced, I signed up. I knew if I didn’t commit then, I might not prioritize it later, and now, here I am.”
The World Transplant Games will run from August 17-24.
While over 11 million Floridians are registered as organ donors, the need for more donors remains. Currently, more than 105,000 individuals in the United States, including over 5,100 Floridians, are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. One donor has the potential to save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance the lives of up to 75 others through tissue and eye donation.
To learn more about organ donation or register as a donor, visit www.MyStoryContinues.com.