"Breath of Life" Campaign

Tim and Maria Beach of McCordsville, Indiana, need your help!  Tim has Pulmonary Fibrosis and is currently recovering from a double lung transplant at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after spending two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).  He received the “gift of life” of  new lungs on May 19, 2015!  Tim provided the only income for their family until his job was recently eliminated due to employer lay-offs.  He is the father of four and his only son has autism. Their medical bills are accumulating very rapidly and Tim's unemployment was denied due to his inability to seek current and near term employment. With their ability to earn an income inhibited by Tim's medical condition and the need for Maria to care for him and their children, they have found themselves in need of financial assistance.  

Pulmonary Fibrosis is hereditary and it already claimed the life of Tim’s mother and grandmother.  In addition, one of his sisters is a survivor of a double lung transplant due to this terrible disease.

Here is Tim and Maria’s story:  Still single into her 30’s, Maria Metallic would pray the Rosary for a godly man to come into her life.  She was an active member of the Indianapolis Ambassadors and at one gathering she noticed a handsome new guy.  She told her friends “I saw him first!”  She went over to speak with Tim.   A relationship pursued and he would later tell her “you were the prettiest girl in the room”.   Their love of the Catholic faith was mutual and they married in 2000.    Their first child, Leah, was born in 2002.  Maria became pregnant again in 2002 with their second child.  While in utero, Tim and Maria were told that their child did not have kidneys and if he made it to full term, he would not survive more than a couple of hours after birth.  The doctors told them there was nothing they could do.   Alexander Gabriel Beach did make it to full term, he was born on June 16, 2003, and passed away shortly after.  Heartbroken, Tim and Maria prayed and prayed for God to give them guidance.  Twice they felt directed by God through their prayers to adopt, so they did.  On Christmas in 2005 they adopted Isaac from Russia.  He was 11 months old at the time.  The orphanage told Tim and Maria they were not sure Isaac was “ok”.  “He has difficulty making eye contact but maybe love will fix it”.  At age two and a half, Isaac was diagnosed with autism.  He is now ten years old and has been attending the Behavioral Analysis Center for Autism (BACA) year round since age three.  With “love” the once non-verbal child is verbal, can read and write.  He has a passion for mufflers and the noises that different pieces and parts make on a vehicle.  Isaac captures the heart of those who know him.   It is beautiful to see the world through his eyes.  Maria became pregnant again in 2006 with Michaela who is now eight yrs old.   After suffering four miscarriages, Maria gave birth to their third daughter Clarice in 2010.  She is now five. 

Tim was in the Reserve Air Guard for 20 years.  In addition, he worked for Eli Lilly for 17 years.  Travel and long work hours took a toll on family time. Tim accepted a position with  IBM assigning him towork for Eli Lilly as an IBM Contractor.  After three years as a contractor, IBM initiated a layoff of many positions and Tim’s job was eliminated on April 30, 2015.   Tim worked, while on oxygen, until the very last day as the Pulmonary Fibrosis was causing his health to rapidly deteriorate.  He was on oxygen 24 hours a day seven days a week starting April 21st, 2015.  His fate was following in the footsteps of his mother and grandmother.  By the grace of God, Tim and Maria met with a transplant team on May 11th to determine if Tim was a candidate for a double lung transplant.  After meeting with doctors and being told things that will “sober you up real quick” the doctors determined they would move forward with his case, but he would not be returning home as his health was critical.  He was admitted to ICU at Methodist Hospital that day.  Tim had been suffocating at home, even with oxygen assistance!  The doctors continued to run all kinds of tests on Tim to determine if he would be a transplant candidate.  If they determined he could not make it through surgery or after surgery, he would not make the list.  On Friday, May 15th Tim was put on the Indiana Donor Transplant List.   In the meantime, their faith family started a 54 Day Rosary Novena praying for the family that would be giving the gift of life!  Did you know a single donor has the potential to save up to eight lives?  They were also praying for complete physical healing for Tim and for fortitude and peace for the family, as well as, total trust in God's will.   On Tuesday, May 19th Tim was placed on the National Transplant List.  Within hours Tim and Maria were told they have lungs for the transplant!  Tim was prepped for surgery that day and it was a success.  He is currently recovering at Methodist Hospital where he will remain for at least a minimum of four weeks.



Tim and Maria were active members of St. Simon Parish of Indianapolis, Indiana, for eight years before becoming members of St. John Vianney of Fishers in the summer of 2014.  They are both members of the Cursillo movement.  Tim is an active member of the Knights of Columbus and Maria is an active member of the Ministry of Mothers Sharing (MOMS) Ministry.  Their faith is carrying them through this difficult time.  They have affiliations with Geist Christian Preschool, BACA of Fishers, Lumen Christi of Indianapolis, St. Simon Parish of Indianapolis, St. John Vianney Parish of Fishers, Cursillo of Indiana, the Knights of Columbus of Fishers and Indianapolis Ambassadors. 

The Beach family is so blessed to have so much spiritual and physical support from their friends and faith family, but the need is much greater. The goal of this GoFundMe campaign is to raise $150,000 to be able to help support them through this long recovery process. The money will help cover accumulating medical expenses, and more than likely, the astronomical expenses they will incur as their insurance is due to expire in two months. The funds make current the large past due balance for tuition and assist in caring for their autistic son’s education which is in risk of being denied. It will provide for some of the mandatory home repairs that absolutely have to be completed to insure Tim's successful recovery. Finally, we pray that it will curb some of the sleepless nights they have incurred in trying to make ends meet at such a difficult time. The Beach family live a very frugal lifestyle and have given much of their time, talent and treasure to others. If there were ever a family who needed and deserved the help that they have given to others throughout their lives, it is THIS family. God bless you for your support of the Beach family.   While their needs are great, God’s mercy is greater.  


“Surrounded by love is a good place to be….”