UHealth Surgeons Perform Rare Double Lung Transplant on Local Hip-Hop Youth Minister at Jackson Memorial Hospital

Since 2001, Joel Stigale, a prominent local youth minister, has influenced the lives of thousands in South Florida through his organization, Catalyst Hip-Hop – an outlet for young people to come together and express themselves through art, music, and dance. At the end of each Catalyst Hip-Hop meeting, Joel, 41, would share his Christian faith with those in attendance and would mentor them to live a life free from drugs, crime, and violence. He was healthy, living his dream, and active in the community with the support of his wife, Vivian.

Last fall, he unexpectedly faced respiratory failure that started as a lingering cough. While out of town for a conference, his condition deteriorated so quickly that he could barely walk from his car to the hotel.

When he returned home, Joel visited his pulmonologist, who determined that his lungs were functioning at just 20 percent. He was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) – a disease with no known cause or cure and from which more Americans die each year than breast cancer. His only chance at survival was a double lung transplant.

Joel was admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital last October to be evaluated by Matthias Loebe, MD, and Nicolas Brozzi, MD, of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System and the Miami Transplant Institute.

They put Joel on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an artificial lung with two compartments that provided respiratory and cardiac support, until a donor was found.

“Patients who need to be placed on ECMO are often too sick for a transplant,” Dr. Loebe said. “His story shows for me that, when strong will, spiritual support from those who are closest to the patient, and world-class medical services of many specialties come together, we can find meaningful solutions for the most complicated health issues and bring our patients back to a life filled with quality, meaning, and joy.”

Ten days after he was placed on the national transplant waiting list, a donor was found.

“I was relieved that my prayers had been answered,” Joel said. “I had never smoked, and although my wife and I had signed up to be organ donors ourselves, we did not realize that one day we would face the need to have a second chance at life.”

The youth minister’s bilateral transplant surgery last November was a success. As he recovered at Jackson Memorial, Joel was regularly visited by members of his Catalyst Hip-Hop family. During Art Basel last December, one particular graffiti crew he mentored, Few Distinct Chosen (FDC), dedicated a mural in Wynwood to him. The mural, which currently faces I-95, reads “Get Well Soon, Joel.”

“I have been mentored by Joel since I was 16 years old,” said Carlos “Junk” Lainez, 32, leader of FDC. “We were completely devastated and worried about him; Joel is an angel amongst us and has given young people an opportunity when no one else would.”

Vivian Stigale, Joel’s wife, says that their transplant ordeal couldn’t have been made possible without the overwhelming support from their friends, hospital staff, and the power of prayer.

“Joel was so sick that it was moment by moment, hour by hour, to see if he’d survive,” Vivian said. “Everyone from the doctors, nurses, techs, housekeepers, and therapists, has shown so much love and compassion that it really makes a big difference for patients and their families.”

Since the surgery, Joel has lost 50 pounds and has undergone intensive rehabilitation care – physical, occupational, speech, and psychological – with therapists from Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital.

Nearly seven months after being admitted to Jackson, Joel recently went home, looking forward to seeing his 16-year-old stepdaughter, Havanna, and his American bulldog, Gracie. He hopes to soon return to his second home at Catalyst Hip-Hop.