Breathe and Let Go is a dramatic tale of perseverance and survival. Faced with certain death from a progressive and debilitating lung disease, Gavin Maitland received a double lung transplant at Duke University Medical Center on March 14th, 2008. His determination to recover and compete in a triathlon only 13 months after his surgery is an uplifting story of resilience and determination. With down-to-earth humor and honesty, Maitland recounts his six-year odyssey from robust health in his mid-thirties through the decline and despair of failing lungs, through to a successful double lung transplant and beyond. Maitland recounts the medical obstacles he encountered and circumvented while trying to diagnose the cause of his deteriorating health. In compelling detail, he captures the drama of his journey: the realization that his only option for survival was a lung transplant; the challenges of being accepted as a transplant candidate: and the lifelong tasks that he as a transplant recipient faces to continue to stay healthy-and alive.
A dedicated swimmer and marathon runner, Gavin Maitland developed a mysterious, progressive lung disease in his mid-thirties. With a prognosis of less than six months to live, Maitland received a double lung transplant at Duke University Medical Center on March 14th, 2008. He completed his first post transplant triathlon in April of 2009. A native of Scotland, Maitland lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife Julie and two children, Alex and Riley. Breathe and Let Go is his first book.