Recipient of lung transplant cycling around N.S. to raise money for those needing treatment

HALIFAX -

John Dennis breathes easier these days and has a wonderful outlook on life after years of living with pulmonary fibrosis.

He recently became a lung transplant recipient at the age of 76, the oldest in the Maritimes to have the procedure.

Now, he's on a two-wheeled mission to help others, doing a series of bicycle rides around the trails of Nova Scotia in support of the Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. The fundraiser is called "Hope Breathes Here."

"Pulmonary fibrosis is a terminal disease, unless you get a transplant," Dennis said. "I was diagnosed in October of 2016 and, at that point, I decided I was going to get a lung transplant and nothing was going to hold me back."

Dennis said it was an emotional moment.

"When I woke up in ICU within 40 minutes, I had my ventilator out and I was breathing beautifully," Dennis said. "I just can't get over how wonderful it is to wake up in the morning, and to be able to breathe. It's fantastic."

Dennis is a big supporter of implied consent legislation, which would help many who are in need of a lung transplant.

"If we get it, we'll save so many lives," Dennis said. "We've lost six people in the Halifax pulmonary fibrosis support group, who have died since I started the group in 2016."

Dennis said there have been five people who have received a transplant, and there are more going up.

Dennis says his wife died of COVID-19 at Northwood last year, and this is his passion.

"All I have to do now is work on this," he said. "It's my life's work now."