Slight setback in lung transplant girl's recovery: Mom

PHILADELPHIA The mother of a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl recovering after a double lung transplant says doctors tried to remove her breathing tube but were forced to reinsert it.

Janet Murnaghan said in a statement provided by a spokeswoman that her daughter, Sarah, "could not handle the reduced support" after the tube was removed Wednesday. She called the day "excruciating" and said it was "impossibly painful" watching her daughter struggle to breathe, so the girl was ultimately sedated and re-intubated.

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Janet Murnaghan said doctors have assured the family that the day's events don't change Sarah's long-term prospects but just mean she "needs more time to regain her strength."

Sarah, of Newtown Square, suffers from severe cystic fibrosis. She underwent the operation after a national debate over the organ allocation process -- and just days after a federal judge granted her family's request to suspend a rule that blocked her from being put on a waiting list for an adult lung because of her age.