A true story of survival, resilience, and rebuilding a life.

Available on Amazon in paperback & eBook

Testimonials

★★★★★

"Nicholas doesn't tell his story like someone trying to polish the pain. He tells it honestly—with the fear, confusion, exhaustion, faith, and gratitude that came with fighting for his life."

— Eric

★★★★★

"This story will stay with me for a long time."

— Reader Review

★★★★★

"A heartfelt testimony of faith, love, perseverance, and gratitude."

— Amazon Review

I'm Nicholas P. Dodge. In April 2021, I got sick with COVID-19. Within weeks, I was on a ventilator, and by June I was connected to ECMO, a machine that did the work my lungs no longer could. I stayed on that machine for 241 days. Five transplant centers in Chicago turned my case away before Northwestern Memorial Hospital took a chance and gave me new lungs on January 31, 2022.

I spent eleven months across three hospitals. I lost 53 pounds. I had to relearn how to sit up, how to feed myself, and how to walk, a process that took another nine months of rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. I came home on March 16, 2022.

A Life Returned is the true story of that fight, written with my wife, Maureen G. Dodge, who was beside my hospital bed almost every day for eleven months. It is not a polished version of survival. It is the honest one: the fear, the setbacks, the faith, and the people who carried me when I could not carry myself.

I wrote this book for anyone in the middle of their own fight, whether that fight involves ECMO, a transplant, a hospital stay, or simply a season of life that demanded more strength than they thought they had. If any part of my story resonates with you, I hope you will read it, and I hope it gives you something to hold onto.

For Families

If someone you love is on ECMO, waiting for a transplant, or coming home from the ICU, start here. Each page is drawn from my 241 days on ECMO and the year that followed.

Can You Survive Months on ECMO? My 241 Days on ECMO

What It's Like to Wake Up After Months on Life Support

Turned Down by Five Transplant Centers: How I Still Got New Lungs

What to Expect After a Double Lung Transplant: The First Year

Relearning to Walk After the ICU

When Your Spouse Is on ECMO: A Caregiver's Story