Officer undergoes double lung transplant after Covid and cancer [Video]

CHICAGO — When a pair of crises impacted both of his lungs, a Chicago officer went on patrol for a hospital to help him heal.

It was a first of its kind intervention for a first responder.

Arthur Gillespie has been on the job 30 years. He served as a University of Chicago police officer and worked for the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.

“I had the opportunity and was blessed to go through the ranks,” he said. “As an officer as a sergeant as a captain … I really do love the service.”

But in March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic essentially put an end to his career.

“Not a lot of information was being given about the virus, the pandemic hadn’t taken affect there was a lot of confusion,” Gillespie said.

In short succession, several of his relatives got sick, a cousin, an uncle and his father, who …