Real Life ‘Fault in the Stars’ Couple Celebrates Good News On Health

Young couple Katie and Dalton Prager, both living with cystic fibrosis, were reunited with good news on Tuesday afternoon. After spending time away from each other for five months due to hospitalisations, the couple reunited with news that Katie is scheduled for a lung transplant.

Twenty-three-year-old Dalton and 24-year old Katie have spent their married lives apart since November. Dalton has been recuperating following a lung transplant in Pittsburgh in November, while his wife was at the University of Kentucky Hospital, getting treated for her severe lung disease.

Patients with cystic fibrosis are not allowed to be in close contact with each other, since infections are easily spread in this case. Dalton has a fatal infection called Burkholderia cepacia, putting Katie at more risk of worsening her condition. "It's hard not to run in and hug her, but Katie keeps saying 'stay back!'" he said.

Good news is upon the young couple as Katie is now set to get a lung transplant, a procedure that has been on hold for many months now due to insurance issues. CNN featured the couple’s story and their predicament over payment issues for a requested transplant out of Kentucky.

In her statement on Tuesday, Katie thanked CNN for helping with her situation. “Without CNN I don't think any of this would have been possible."

"I am so thankful for all the support that Dalton and I have received from people all over the world. CNN will always hold a special place in my heart because they have ultimately played a huge part in saving my life,” she said.

Katie’s scheduled transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is yet to be known, but she is hopeful that her operation will be completed just in time for their 4th wedding anniversary this July.

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