Saving Sarah

When her daughter desperately needed a lung transplant to survive, Janet Murnaghan rallied against the outdated restrictions in healthcare that would limit her daughter's options.

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Sarah had been dying of cystic fibrosis since the day she was born. The disease quickly ravaged her lungs and little body bit-by-bit. Fragile and frail, she had only weeks to live, when her mum realised the reality of Sarah’s situation: transplant laws, restricting access to lungs based on arbitrary age restrictions, meant Sarah’s options were limited. The injustice of her daughter’s fate spurred Janet to start a public battle against outdated health care regulations and a battle to save Sarah’s life.

Janet transformed her pain and desperation into a voice for Sarah and other kids using social media as her megaphone with friends and family as Sarah’s warriors. How does a family navigate catastrophic illness and life in a hospital, while still maintaining a sense of normalcy? Saving Sarah is a story of hope and courage, and a mother’s determination to never give up. It's also the story of how a family - Janet and her husband Fran have three other children, one adopted from Ghana - reacts and adjusts when one of its members is in ongoing crisis.