Alyson Tozer in “good spirits” after lung transplant

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then this photograph of Miss La Paz County 2012 Alyson Tozer taken a couple of days after her double lung transplant makes more of an impact than anything we could write at Parker Live about her progress.

In a Facebook posting Saturday from her bed at St. Joseph Hospital in Phoenix, Alyson said she’s in good spirits after the major surgery:

“I’m still in complete disbelief that I actually have new lungs and a better chance at life!!! What an amazing opportunity!! I cannot explain the gratitude I have for my donor. Because of their brave choice to be a donor, I have a new chance. Becoming a donor is honorable and I can’t wait to sign up. I truly encourage everyone to become a donor. It is a gift that cannot be described easily. To feel yourself slipping away into death’s darkness is one of the worst feelings a person could encounter. I was truly deeply frightened that I would not make it to my transplant date. I was literally drowning inside from illness, every breath I choked on air, I thrived for any oxygen I could get. And now post my gracious gift, my quality of life itself, is completely restored. I cannot wait to heal and get back to living. Really living!”

St. Joseph’s has around a 90 percent success rate for this type of surgery one year out, which is one of the best in the nation.