When Doug Akagi was just 31 years old, he started to notice some troubling symptoms. He couldn鈥檛 seem to catch his breath while working out.
鈥淚 felt like I was out of shape,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was just getting winded really fast whenever I did any type of exercise.鈥
After a year of seeing various specialists and digging into his family medical history, Doug was finally referred to a pulmonary hypertension specialist at LDS Hospital.
鈥淭hey ran one test, and I finally had my diagnosis,鈥 he said.
Akagi was 32 years old, with two small children under the age of 4, when he was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension.
鈥淔or me, it was hereditary,鈥 said Akagi, whose mother passed away from the same condition when Doug was three years old.
Over the 12 months of searching for answers and a diagnosis, Akagi鈥檚 condition had deteriorated significantly.
鈥淎fter I was admitted to LDS Hospital, the doctors told me if I went home at that point I probably wouldn鈥檛 live for a month,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was pretty shocking.鈥
For the next four weeks, doctors monitored Akagi鈥檚 condition, trying various medications to help stabilize his condition and improve his symptoms. Four weeks later, he was released from the hospital. Although the prognosis was fairly bleak at that time, Akagi did his best to move forward and live life as best as he could with his condition.
Unfortunately, over the years, things just continued to get worse and worse.
鈥淎bout eight years after my diagnosis, the pulmonary hypertension was getting really bad,鈥 Akagi said. 鈥淚t was time to make a decision. Either go through all the testing to get on the lung transplant list or continue down the road I was on.鈥
Akagi chose to undergo the testing required for transplant eligibility. Luckily, the testing showed he was eligible for a transplant, and he was put on the lung transplant list.
At that point, I knew if I didn鈥檛 try for a transplant, I wouldn鈥檛 have lived for more than a year.
On September 27, 2011鈥攋ust three weeks after being added to the transplant list鈥擠oug got a phone call. It was go time.
鈥淭hat was a shock,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hen I first got on the list, the transplant doctors told me I would likely have to wait for at least six months because lungs are so rare.鈥
Akagi had three hours to decide if he wanted to go through with the surgery. After talking with his family, he made the decision to go through with it.
On September 27, 2011, Akagi had a double lung transplant at University of Utah 星空传媒 in Salt Lake City.
鈥淎 double lung transplant is a huge, traumatic surgery,鈥 Doug said. 鈥淏ut as soon as I woke up after surgery, I felt better than I had in a long time.鈥
Akagi spent six weeks in the hospital after his surgery. He started physical therapy and no longer needed to be on oxygen. His quality of life was immediately improved and only continued to get better from there. Even still, the recovery was very difficult for Akagi.
鈥淚 was so weak after surgery that if I sat on the floor, I couldn鈥檛 get up by myself,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 start to feel human again until March 2012, seven months after the lung transplant.鈥
It was around this time that Akagi realized how far he had come鈥攏ot only since the surgery, but since his pulmonary hypertension diagnosis years earlier.
鈥淚n April 2012, eight months after surgery, my wife and kids and I went for a walk near our house,鈥 Doug said. 鈥淚 started running and my kids started laughing and chasing after me. I asked them why they were laughing, and they said they had never seen me run before.鈥
Even though things have turned out well for Akagi and his family, he did have his doubts about whether he should have the surgery when he got that phone call.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to die and leave my kids here,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat was the scary part, but for me it has been totally worth it.鈥
Today, Akagi can do what any normal person can do. He can hike, swim, mountain bike鈥 the only thing he can鈥檛 do is run a marathon.
In 2022, Doug started his own business running events for local companies. He travels often for work鈥攕omething he couldn鈥檛 have feasibly done while on oxygen.
But physical fitness and work aren鈥檛 the reasons Akagi is glad he鈥檚 still around.
鈥淲hen I was first diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, the prognosis was really bleak,鈥 he said. 鈥淎t that time, my kids were 2 and 3 years old, and I never thought I鈥檇 be able to see them grow up. I just never thought it was going to be possible.鈥
Akagi鈥檚 daughter is now 22, was recently married, and is in her senior year of college studying mechanical engineering. His son, now 21, is also in college, majoring in computer science.
Akagi was there for both of his kids鈥 high school graduations. He was there for his daughter鈥檚 wedding. And he plans on being there when both of his kids graduate from college.
Being sick has really changed my perspective on life. Life is really fragile, and people are more important than how much money you make and what kind of car you drive. None of that matters if you aren鈥檛 around.
