Mary's Lung Transplant
Donation protected
I am writing this on behalf of my mom, Mary Maguire, who has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Our fight against IPF began about 5 years ago, although we did not know what we were facing at the time. IPF is a rare, progressive disease that causes irreversible scarring of lung tissue. There is no cure for IPF, only medications that have recently been approved by the FDA to slow the progression of IPF. My mom has been taking these medications for years now and her lung disease continues to progress at an alarming rate. She now uses 6 liters of oxygen for the majority of the day and can do very little without getting severely short of breath. She is only 55 years old and the only other treatment option is a lung transplant.
After a long evaluation process at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she was placed on the organ transplant list for a bilateral lung transplant on November 6, 2015. As if the waiting isn’t hard enough, she now has the added stress of piling medical bills in light of not being about to work for the past 5 years. While we wait desperately for the call to come from the hospital to receive the transplant, we also worry about the aftermath. Recovery is a lifelong process for patients of organ transplants and will include multiple medications, rehab stays, and potential hospitalizations to battle rejection of the donor organs.
For those of you who know my mom, you know she has always been a hard working, independent, single mother. She was a member of RI Air National Guard for 26 years and served with the Military Honor Guard for 8 years. She was always on the go. It’s extremely difficult watching her struggle now to do the most basic of things – gardening, cooking, showering – when I am used to seeing her free and self-sufficient.
I want my mom to focus on her health, and hopefully soon enough, her recovery. I do not want her to stress about how she will pay her medication co-pays, medical bills, rehab, or mortgage. Any donation big or small will help and is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Tayla Inderlin, on behalf of my mom, Mary Maguire
Our fight against IPF began about 5 years ago, although we did not know what we were facing at the time. IPF is a rare, progressive disease that causes irreversible scarring of lung tissue. There is no cure for IPF, only medications that have recently been approved by the FDA to slow the progression of IPF. My mom has been taking these medications for years now and her lung disease continues to progress at an alarming rate. She now uses 6 liters of oxygen for the majority of the day and can do very little without getting severely short of breath. She is only 55 years old and the only other treatment option is a lung transplant.
After a long evaluation process at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she was placed on the organ transplant list for a bilateral lung transplant on November 6, 2015. As if the waiting isn’t hard enough, she now has the added stress of piling medical bills in light of not being about to work for the past 5 years. While we wait desperately for the call to come from the hospital to receive the transplant, we also worry about the aftermath. Recovery is a lifelong process for patients of organ transplants and will include multiple medications, rehab stays, and potential hospitalizations to battle rejection of the donor organs.
For those of you who know my mom, you know she has always been a hard working, independent, single mother. She was a member of RI Air National Guard for 26 years and served with the Military Honor Guard for 8 years. She was always on the go. It’s extremely difficult watching her struggle now to do the most basic of things – gardening, cooking, showering – when I am used to seeing her free and self-sufficient.
I want my mom to focus on her health, and hopefully soon enough, her recovery. I do not want her to stress about how she will pay her medication co-pays, medical bills, rehab, or mortgage. Any donation big or small will help and is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Tayla Inderlin, on behalf of my mom, Mary Maguire
Organizer and beneficiary
Tayla Inderlin
Organizer
Cranston, RI
Mary Maguire
Beneficiary