When Eva Orlanka Taylor arrived in Kentucky from Haiti at just six years old, she brought with her more than a new name and a new home. She carried an illness no one had fully explained, one that had shaped her early childhood. At Norton Children’s, her family finally began to uncover the answers, and Eva took her first real steps toward breathing freely.
Eva was born in Cité Soleil, Haiti, in 2010. As a young child, she spent a great deal of time in and out of hospitals, struggling with frequent illness and persistent respiratory symptoms. In 2016, she was adopted by her parents and moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. It wasn’t long after that she began receiving care at Norton Children’s.
That’s when her medical team discovered the condition that had been making life so difficult: chronic bullous lung disease.
A rare diagnosis
Chronic bullous lung disease is rare and can have several different causes. It may affect one or both lungs. In Eva’s case, one lung had become essentially nonfunctional, producing thick mucus that led to a frequent, deep cough and repeated lung infections.
“Eva’s case was pretty severe,” said Scott G. Bickel, M.D., pediatric pulmonologist with Norton Children’s Pulmonology. “Her nonfunctional lung was not only failing to help her breathe, but it was also causing damage to her healthy lung.”
Dr. Bickel believes Eva’s lung disease most likely resulted from a tuberculosis infection she had as a child in Haiti.
Eva’s care team focused on managing her condition until she was old enough for surgery. This required daily breathing treatments four times a day and carrying medical equipment everywhere she went, even to sleepovers and camp.
“We used chest physiotherapy and inhaled medications to thin secretions, reduce inflammation and treat infections as they came up,” Dr. Bickel said. “We worked closely with our surgeons to determine the optimal timing for surgery.”
A life-changing operation
In July 2025, 14-year-old Eva underwent a pneumonectomy at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, a major surgery performed by Stewart R. Carter, M.D., a pediatric general surgeon with Norton Children’s, to remove her entire affected lung. While the idea of losing a lung may sound daunting, in Eva’s case her care team decided it was the best option.
“The lung we removed was almost completely nonfunctional,” Dr. Bickel said. “So, the impact on her stamina and breathing was minimal. In fact, since surgery, she’s had improvement in her cough and her overall lung function, and she has been able to decrease some of her respiratory medications.”
The surgery and hospital stay put Eva on the road to recovery and an improved quality of life.
“My surgeon said it went perfectly,” she said. “The team checked on me, made me laugh and took good care of me.”
Looking ahead
Today, Eva, now 15 years old, continues follow-up care close to home with visits to the Norton Children’s Pulmonology location at Norton Children’s Outpatient Center – Elizabethtown. Over time, her visits will likely become less frequent, and her medications may be gradually reduced as her lung function continues to improve.
“Eva is an outstanding patient and person,” Dr. Bickel said. “We’ve asked a lot of her over the years, and she always approaches everything with a smile and positive attitude. Watching her thrive now is the best part of my profession.”
Eva is now looking forward to an even brighter future. “Because of Norton Children’s, I can breathe easier, go to school and do the things other kids do,” she said. “Norton Children’s changed my life.”