Rhonda Sawyer “Sassy” was an active loving mother and grandma who enjoyed spending time with her family including her son, three daughters and their growing families. In the fall of 2021, Rhonda contracted COVID-19 and continued to decline. She was placed on VV ECMO at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. After over 80 days completely sedated, doctors were able to wake her up while still on ECMO so she could begin physical therapy and be evaluated for a double lung transplant (they thought she’d need a kidney too, but hers healed with time!). After 153 days on ECMO, Sassy received new lungs thanks to a generous donor. Her family was with her the entire way and she got to meet her newest grandbaby while still in the hospital. Her daughters made sure she felt more like herself by brushing her hair and painting her nails. 

The family motto during her illness was “Sassy Strong” and the hospital even nicknamed her ECMO machine “Sassy” when she left the unit. Her medical team even took the time to figure out ways to get her outside to see the sunshine while she was connected to lot of machines. After 7 months, Sassy returned home to her family and is learning to live life with new lungs.