Randy Sims dreamed of playing basketball or golf again. But in 1999, what he wanted most of all was just to take his next breath, and then the one after that.

Randy, 37, of O'Fallon, MO, has cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common inherited fatal disease. Research, medications and treatment approaches, such as those available at the multi-disciplinary adult CF program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, had extended the median life expectancy past age 30.

A natural athlete, Randy always lived as actively as his disease had allowed. But recurrent infections destroyed his lungs and made breathing a struggle.

Randy went on the waiting list for a lung transplant at Barnes-Jewish, one of the pre-eminent lung transplant centers in the world and the first to treat CF with bilateral sequential lung transplant -- now the standard procedure worldwide. And, because of Barnes-Jewish's comprehensive team approach to treatment of respiratory disorders, Randy knew he would be getting top medical and rehabilitative care before and after surgery.

On April 9, 1999, Randy received a double lung transplant.

He hasn't wasted a moment of his new life. He went back to work, got married in Hawaii, and began speaking to organizations about the need for organ donors. And in a dream come true, he resumed basketball and golf - with a vengeance - competing in the 2000 and 2002 Transplant Games.

U.S. News ranked Barnes-Jewish Hospital fourth in respiratory disorders, which includes cystic fibrosis. To learn more about Lung Services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, click here.

For more information about all of Barnes-Jewish Hospital's rankings, click here.