Arizona woman who survived 2 double lung transplants to celebrate Mother's Day

Arizona mother survives 2 lung transplants

Mother's Day falls on May 10 in 2026, and this year, Teri Raymond is celebrating the gift of life, after surviving two rare double lung transplants. FOX 10's Jacob Luthi reports.

PHOENIX - For 2026, Mother's Day is on May 10, and this weekend, a Phoenix area mom is celebrating the gift of life.

The backstory:

Teri Raymond is a two-time double lung transplant recipient.

"I didn't think I was going to live long," said Raymond.

Raymond's lung problems began in the early '90s, and despite moving her family to Show Low for cleaner air, she was eventually diagnosed with severe emphysema in 2005.

"I sometimes didn't think I was going to wake up because it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest every night," Raymond said.

After years of declining health, Teri received a donor match in 2009. However, her relief turned to heartbreak when her body rejected the new lungs a year later.

"I didn't think, you know, if I was going to make it," she said.

But doctors at St. Joseph's Norton Thoracic Institute didn't give up, giving Teri a rare second chance at life.

In 2011, Teri underwent a second double lung transplant.

Expert Perspective:

Doctors say second double lung transplants are rare and highly complex, making Teri's recovery remarkable.

"Terry are why I do this," said Dr. Sofya Tokman, associate medical director of lung transplants at Norton Thoracic Institute. "Because you take somebody who is on oxygen, has such an impaired quality of life that they're barely able to complete everyday tasks, and then you put them through a lung transplant and you watch them thrive."

After The Transplant:

That second transplant gave Teri the chance to watch her sons grow up, start their careers and share a mother-son dance at her son's wedding.

More than a decade later, Teri is thriving, hiking and backpacking through the Grand Canyon.

"I'm so grateful to be here to experience another Mother's Day," Raymond said. "I never thought I'd get to be 65 and another Mother's Day."