Teen Overcomes Lung Transplant to See Her Favorite Band

If it weren’t for her favorite band, BTS, a South Korean hip-hop band, Jennifer Alvarado is not sure she could have endured the long wait for a lung transplant.

“When I first got diagnosed, it was very hard to find a source of happiness, especially when a past doctor said I could die. BTS’s music was like therapy. It was a big source of happiness and joy for me when I really needed it,” she says.

When Jennifer was 15 years old, her pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs) worsened. It was robbing her of not just her breath, but her life. She couldn’t do the things she enjoyed, and she constantly felt worn out.

Her family sought care near their home in Indio, California, where doctors said the only solution was a lung transplant. She was referred to Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, which has the only Pediatric Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program on the West Coast. 

There, she would begin her more than two-year journey to get a new pair of lungs. And one band, one song, got her through, along with her family’s constant love and support.

“The BTS song called ‘Dis-ease’ really stood out during the wait. It says, ‘I’m sick and tired but don’t want to mess up because life goes on.’ Those words kept me moving forward through the oxygen and the pain,” Jennifer says.

Receiving a lung transplant evaluation and care at Stanford Children’s

Jennifer came to Stanford Children’s in July 2022 for a lung transplant evaluation, and she was put on the national lung transplant waiting list in October 2022.

“Jennifer’s pulmonary hypertension was complex, so we brought a large team of experts together to provide her with the high level of care that she needed,” says Cissy Xin Si, MD, medical director of the Pediatric Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program.  

While on the waiting list, Jennifer received care from the multidisciplinary lung transplant care team and their specialty colleagues, such as cardiologists who specialize in pulmonary hypertension. Her care team did everything they could to improve her health, including adjusting her medications, supporting her breathing, supporting her mental health via a transplant psychologist, and optimizing her fitness with physical therapy. Jennifer and her mom, Patty, and brother, Anthony, lived nearby at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

“Jennifer and her mom developed a tremendous bond with our lung transplant team and shared a high level of trust with us. They have been great partners,” says David Cornfield, MD, chief of the Pulmonary, Asthma, and Sleep Medicine Center.

In the hospital, Jennifer would hold dance parties to BTS with her family and care team members. “I could still dance to their choreography with my oxygen tank even though I would get winded,” she says. “I tried my best always to turn away from the negativity, and BTS was a big part of that for me.” 

Getting too well for the transplant list

Before transplant, children participate in prehab to keep them as strong as possible despite their advanced disease. The care team was impressed how Jennifer stepped up and did whatever they asked of her to improve her health.  

“Jennifer was so determined and committed to help herself feel better, and to be an active participant in her care,” says Rachel Hopper, MD, director of the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program. “We said walking more would help, and she began walking several miles a day.”

With Jennifer’s involvement, the team’s care plan to optimize her health worked. She improved so much that she no longer needed to be on the lung transplant waiting list. She still needed oxygen and medication, but her team felt she was no longer sick enough to need an immediate transplant.

“With lung transplant, timing is important. Deceased donor lungs do not last forever in a recipient, so we are always considering the timing of the transplant to get the most benefit,” Dr. Si says.

“One of the hardest decisions we must make is deciding when to transplant. Our entire multidisciplinary team was very thoughtful about her case,” adds Dr. Hopper.

Because Jennifer had improved enough to no longer need an immediate lung transplant, she was able to go home to Indio, a 10-hour drive away, where she could resume her life rather than be in the limbo of living near Stanford Children’s.

“We knew it would be hard news for Jennifer to hear, given the great deal of emotion which inevitably is intertwined with being on the transplant waiting list,” says Laura Green, RN, her nurse coordinator and manager of the Pediatric Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program.

It was a confusing time for Jennifer, but she kept her spirits up with the help of her family, her trusted providers, and the music of BTS. “Being in the hospital was a dark time for Jennifer, but when she listened to BTS, it was beautiful how it helped her get out of the stress and let her forget everything. When a smile would pour out of her, it was a treasure to us,” says Anthony, Jennifer’s brother.

Dr. Cornfield shared the news with Jennifer and her family, who understood that in the long run it was the right decision for her and her life’s trajectory.

“Her mom was thankful for our forthrightness,” Dr. Cornfield says. “When Jennifer’s condition worsened again a year later, they did not hesitate to come back to us, even though she was 18 and could have chosen an adult transplant program close to home. That trust meant a lot to us.”

Receiving a lung transplant at Stanford Children’s over a year later

In July 2024, Jennifer’s pulmonary hypertension and lung disease had progressed, and she was put back on the lung transplant waiting list. With severe, advanced pulmonary hypertension, lung transplants are the last resort for survival. A few months later, she got the call that her Stanford Children’s care team had located donor lungs. Her transplant was scheduled on Halloween.

“Before surgery, I felt very nervous and scared about whether I would make it out alive,” Jennifer says.

The surgery went exactly as planned. Jennifer’s transplant surgeon removed her diseased lungs and replaced them with healthy donor lungs. During the operation, the surgeon connected Jennifer’s airway, pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary veins to ensure good blood flow to her new lungs. She spent two weeks recovering in the hospital.

Jennifer kept up her cheer, at least on the outside, despite having challenges after transplant, like needing to have her airway dilated to help improve her breathing, a fairly common complication after lung transplant. She received care from the Interventional Pulmonology Program at Stanford Health Care and from the renowned Aerodigestive and Airway Reconstruction Center at Stanford Children’s.

“While we have a remarkable airway team capable of performing both complex and routine procedures, what truly defines our center is our ability to coordinate and communicate effectively. That team-based approach is what ensures the most comfortable care and the best possible outcomes for each child,” says Douglas Sidell, MD, otolaryngologist with Stanford Children’s, who performed one of Jennifer’s minimally invasive airway procedures.

When she left Stanford Children’s in late 2024, it was the first time she hadn’t been hooked up to oxygen in years, and she was breathing easily.

“It felt weird walking out of the hospital without having to pull my oxygen tank,” Jennifer says. “I was free!”

Jennifer also developed a type of cancer called posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). The Stanford Children’s Interventional Radiology team partnered with their adult colleagues at Stanford Health Care to arrange for Jennifer to receive a diagnostic robotic transbronchial cryobiopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis. She received treatment and is cancer-free today.

Dr. Si has regular follow-up appointments with Jennifer. “She is the most motivated patient I have ever seen posttransplant. She knows her medication routine hands down, and she always comes prepared and ready to take notes.”

“Jennifer is one of the bravest patients we have had. Despite her initial fear and anxiety about the transplant, she just kept going and she has really blossomed,” Green says.

The family says they are “beyond grateful” to Stanford Children’s for the care they received.

A posttransplant surprise: Getting to see BTS play at Stanford

To keep her going during her long care journey, Jennifer dreamed of someday seeing BTS in concert and meeting the band. In the same treatment room where Jennifer cried when she heard the difficult news that she would have to wait for transplant, she received incredible news.

“I shared with her that our team was able to get three tickets to the BTS show on Stanford’s campus on May 16, 2026. She was so happy that she started crying, saying, ‘This time these are tears of joy,’” Dr. Si says.  

The BTS concert will be Jennifer’s first. She plans to take her mom and brother, her two biggest supporters during treatment.

“It’s a dream come true,” says Jennifer. “I hope I can meet the band so I can thank them for their music and how they helped me survive. Even though people say they are just a band, for me they are so much more.”

Learn more about lung and heart-lung transplant at Stanford Children’s >