Two months ago it seemed as though Sarah Murnaghan may not live to see her twelfth birthday. Now, after a long-fought battle against the national policy regarding organ donation, Sarah’s parents have announced to CNN their victory.  She has now undergone a successful lung transplant, and was scheduled to go home as soon as Tuesday, August 27. Murnaghan, who has lived with cystic fibrosis her entire life, has been all over the news the past few days, smiling despite the tracheostomy tube in her throat. After a failed transplant with pediatric lungs, the family had to fight to place Sarah on the priority waiting list for adult organs.

This unbelievably strong little girl now has those lungs, and tests reveal that her body is showing 0% rejection to the transplant. Sarah is excited to be able to play with her siblings, go horseback riding, and live the regular life that she has been deprived. According to CNN, Murnaghan was asked if she thinks of herself as a tough girl, and after confirming that she does, she explained that “every time I faced things that I thought were going to be hard, then I’ve done them.” At 11-years-old, Murnaghan has faced more than an average adult. In the days and weeks to come Sarah will undergo extensive physical therapy, including tasks as simple as relearning how to walk, and she still needs mechanical assistance to breathe, but she is well on her way to recovery. Murnaghan has faced death, and overcome it, and now she prepares to enter the world with all of the strength and resilience that she has gained along the way.