ISLE OF WIGHT, Va. — A young woman who received a double lung transplant has passed away.
Shortly after she graduated from Smithfield High School in 2019, Hannah Goetz took a Caribbean cruise with her family to celebrate the milestone. But toward the end of the trip, the teen became ill.
Returning to Virginia, she was diagnosed with flu and pneumonia. Her lungs filled with fluid and Goetz would battle sepsis and blood clots. Her cystic fibrosis complicated her condition. She was so sick she was rushed to a hospital in Northern Virginia to wait for a double lung transplant. Doctors would make a rare decision to remove Goetz's lungs and let a machine breathe for her.
Four days later, a donor was found and at just 17 years old, Goetz had to have a double lung transplant.
After four months of recovery, Goetz was finally able to return home.
"I didn't think I would miss my house so much, because I always wanted to get away from it. But it felt good to be just here," Goetz told 13News Now at the time.
Family friend Mindy Poland said that despite the occasional setback that required hospitalization, Goetz "was gifted with over three years of quality life making wonderful memories with friends and family."
Sadly, her condition worsened in 2023. Poland said Goetz spent most of the year in and out of the hospital.
"What [the doctors] diagnosed is she has chronic lung rejection," Poland said. "So the first lungs she received in a double lung transplant four years ago, her body is now rejecting those lungs."
In an update posted to social media on Sunday, Goetz's family said doctors told her on Friday they could not do another transplant and that Goetz replied that "she was done."
Goetz was removed from oxygen and made comfortable while she was surrounded by family and friends when she passed on Sunday morning.
She was just 21 years old.
The family said there will be a celebration of life for her soon.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for Goetz's medical expenses.