NEW GLOUCESTER – George Carman, a volunteer firefighter who received a double lung transplant in February, will come home today, said Scott Doyle, a friend of Carman’s and chairman of the group “New Lungs for George.”

Carman, who has suffered from cystic fibrosis since birth, had a double lung transplant on Feb. 3 at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.

Since the transplant, he has shown no signs of rejecting the new lungs. Recent tests have shown that Carman’s lung function has surpassed 110 percent. He entered the hospital with his lungs functioning at only 19 percent.

Carman had been on a transplant list since the end of last summer. He had been in and out of Maine Medical Center in Portland since October.

Doyle has served on the New Gloucester Fire Department with Carman since Doyle was a teenager. He led the group that raised $200,000 to help Carman’s family cover expenses related to the surgery and recovery.

Carman will have to continue to go to New York so that doctors can monitor his new lungs.

The Carman family is expected to arrive around 7:30 tonight at the Amtrak Downeaster train station in Portland. A gathering will be held around 8:30 p.m. at the New Gloucester Fire Rescue Department on Lewiston Road.

Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:

mcreamer@pressherald.com

 

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