Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick performs with lung donor's daughter

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Usually, when Esperanza Tufani sings, her rich alto voice rings throughout a church sanctuary, as a member of her choir.

Not Tuesday, however.

.@CharityTD, who had 2 double-lung transplants, performs touching duet with donor’s daughter. ➡️ https://t.co/P9dHzxvyoA #MIS2017 pic.twitter.com/YUHYmtoF6d

— Cleveland Clinic (@ClevelandClinic) October 25, 2017

The 24-year-old Chipotle general manager from Canton shared the stage Tuesday afternoon with professional opera singer Charity Tillemann-Dick, a best-selling classical recording artist. Their two-song mini-recital earned a rousing ovation from a rapt audience of attendees of Cleveland Clinic’s 15th annual Medical Innovation Summit, held in downtown Cleveland’s Huntington Convention Center.

“I was very nervous before we sang. I’m used to singing in a worship setting,” admits Esperanza. “But as we sang, I relaxed. It’s awesome to sing with Charity, and share the story of what can come from organ donation.”

While their on-stage experiences and singing styles are vastly different, the friends share a unique connection – as the lungs that power Charity’s coloratura soprano once breathed life into Esperanza’s mother, Flora Brown.

The recipient of two double-lung transplants, the most recent pair received in 2012 after her body rejected a previous transplant, Charity has overcome a life-threatening lung disease – and, later, cancer – to live her dream as a world-renowned opera star.

“Her mother’s death brought me life. It’s just incredible that we’ve gotten to know each other, and I can’t even describe what it feels like to sing with her,” says Charity.

The two met about a year after Charity’s second double-lung transplant, which was performed at Cleveland Clinic by cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Kenneth McCurry. Charity had sent an anonymous letter to Ms. Brown’s family, per the protocol of the United Network for Organ Sharing.

When Esperanza shared it with some friends, she discovered – to her amazement – that one of them knew the letter was from Charity because she was acquainted with her. Since then, Charity and Esperanza have met on several occasions – and were ecstatic when they discovered a mutual love of singing.

“When I first heard Esperanza sing, I was mesmerized by her voice,” recalls Charity. “It’s so beautiful. I knew we had to sing together!”

For the Summit, they sang two compositions – “Simple Grace,” a track on Charity’s chart-topping church music-inspired classical album, “American Grace;” plus, a new folk song Charity wrote called “American Rainbow,” with Esperanza singing lead. The latter song’s theme is about the need to form connections, regardless of age, race, gender or political differences.

“Too often, these days, we forget how interconnected we are,” notes Charity. “But it’s something you never forget when you’ve received an organ transplant.”

Charity Tillemann-Dick and Esperanza Tufani support Donate Life America, a non-profit organization focused on increasing the number of donated organs, eyes and tissue to save and heal lives through transplantation. Visit Donate Life #My Encore Challenge to learn more about how to become a donor.

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Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation, Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 83,000 employees worldwide are more than 6,600 salaried physicians and researchers, and 21,900 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,725-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 300 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2025, there were 15.9 million outpatient encounters, 343,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 336,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at x.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources are available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.

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Opera Singer Who Had 2 Double-Lung Transplants Performs Duet With Donor’s Daughter

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