Giving Thanks to a Real "Guardian Angel"
Lung transplant patient finally gets to thank police officer in person for helping him reach the hospital in time for life-saving transplant
BACKGROUND: Thanksgiving is just days away and Gregory Bond has a lot to be thankful for. He got a second chance at life after undergoing a right lung transplant Oct. 10. He knows if it weren’t for Officer Bobby McLean of the Salado Police Department, he might’ve not gotten the transplant he so desperately needed.
Officer McLean escorted him and his wife out of a roadblock as they made their way through Salado, TX, to University Transplant Center at University Hospital, after receiving the call that a donor lung had been matched to him. Mr. Bond said they would’ve been sitting in traffic for at least an hour, but Officer McLean came to provide an escort moments after the couple called for help.
Mr. Bond, 62, said Officer McLean was part of the team that gave him another reason to be so thankful. “The officer was quick to respond and escorted us out of the heavy traffic. But we drove away and never got to meet or thank him. I’m so grateful to him for guiding us so we could get to the hospital on time. My wife and I look forward to thanking him in person for being my guardian police angel that day.”
WHAT: Lung transplant recipient meets Salado police officer for the first time to thank him for escorting him through a roadblock and heavy traffic to reach University Hospital for a lung transplant.
WHO:
- Gregory Bond, lung transplant recipient
- Officer Bobby McLean, Salado Police Department
- Scott Johnson, MD, surgical director of Lung Transplant Program, University Transplant Center; chief of General Thoracic Surgery Department, UT Health Science Center
- Luis Angel, MD, medical director, Lung Transplant/Pulmonology Programs, University Transplant Center
- Lt. Sherrie King, Bexar County Hospital District Police Department
WHERE: University Hospital, 4502 Medical Drive
(Limited media parking available at main entrance of hospital – Please check-in at front information desk)
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 at 2 p.m.
