Retired sheriff undergoes double lung transplant after years of hidden pulmonary fibrosis
After decades on the force, Travis Corbitt retired due to severe breathing problems and received a double lung transplant that restored his ability to breathe.
Travis Corbitt spent more than four decades as a police officer before chronic breathlessness forced him into retirement and full-time oxygen use. Initial assessments suggested allergies or asthma, but a brief exam by a Cleveland Clinic pulmonologist revealed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that gradually scars lung tissue. Because the condition was advanced, doctors recommended a double lung transplant; Corbitt entered the transplant list in May 2025 and was matched quickly.
The operation proceeded without complications, and he began breathing unaided within days, later leaving the hospital after three weeks. Following rehabilitation, he returned home, welcomed his seventh grandchild, and plans to resume golfing and possibly a part-time role with the sheriff’s department.