New Lungs for Brian

Hello!

We’re the Habiger Family. There’s seven of us: Mom (Robyn), Dad (Brian), Me (James), Corey, Tasha, Mitch, and Lucas. Most of us live in Brainerd, Minnesota – a small town a two-hour drive NW from Minneapolis / Saint Paul. Our Dad is dying from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), but thankfully he is currently on his way to having a double lung transplant. Our family is asking for your help.

As I said before, our Dad’s name is Brian. He’s has been suffering the most severely from COPD for the last 4 years. Watching the disease take my Dad’s livelihood has not been easy. As long as I remember my Dad has been hunting, fishing, teaching me about the difference between the trees, and listening to classic rock. I can say that some of the things I care about most come from these aspects of my Dad.

Most importantly though, my Dad always identified as a huntsman and fisherman. COPD has taken these two things away from him. I remember fishing with my Dad as a child, I wasn’t interested at the time – I threw rocks into the river instead - but these are some of my most fond memories. Because of Dad I love rock music and it will always be an integral part of my life. These are things that COPD will never take away from me. I’d like to think that COPD won’t take him away from us.

Seven years ago, we watched my grandfather die of the same disease, and we know too well what that death looks like.The Mayo Clinic states the following about COPD: “Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Symptoms include breathing difficulty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing. […] People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions.” I’m pretty sure he can be classified as a pin-cushion at this point from all from all of this tests that he’s had done recently – the other day the U of MN took 20 vials of blood for just this week.

The symptoms of COPD are absolutely terrible. Honestly – imagine trying to walk, talk, run, or otherwise engage the world while breathing through a soda straw with a lead vest on your chest. It’s darn near impossible to imagine being able to enjoy anything at all. Or even do anything at all, but he does. He goes about life like this at the moment. But hopefully this will change with the lung transplant.

The American Lung Association states “COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States. More than 11 million people have been diagnosed with COPD, but millions more may have the disease without even knowing it. COPD causes serious long-term disability and early death. At this time there is no cure, and the number of people dying from COPD is growing.” The NIH estimates that 120,000 people die from COPD each year.

According to Milliman, a leading authority on organ transplants, the average accrued cost of a double lung transplant is $1,190,700.00. I think that is more than obvious, but our family cannot afford this, and my dad’s life is unfortunately being reduced to this cost. The money donated will provide my family the ability to live while my Dad goes through this incredibly challenging surgery.

We are humbly asking you to donate whatever you can afford. Please, my father’s life should not be monetized, and this cost should not determine whether or not I have a dad. My family is asking you to believe that a life should not be determined by a person’s ability to pay. Please donate. Thank you for your time.