Siu Lu Medical Fund Lung Transplant

Many of you know Siu Lu Forlano (Barrientos).  She was a wonderful part of our family when we first moved to CT for over 6 years, babysitting full time for my two young sons Jack and Nicholas. 

About 9 years ago, at 23 years of age, Siu Lu was diagnosed with Polymyositis - an autoimmune disease which has aggressively attacked her lungs resulting in Interstitial Lung Disease.  In early 2016, the results of an X-ray showed that there was a significantly sized cavity growing in her left lung which over the summer continued to grow aggressively. During the course of 2016, her lung capacity declined to about 15% and she was referred to a lung transplant program at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.  Siu Lu was dependent on an oxygen tank for nearly a year while waiting to be put on the lung transplant list.

Just last month, on Sunday, July 9th a donor match was finally found and Siu Lu was finally rushed to the hospital.  The surgery took about 5 hours and she woke 12 hours later with a team of doctors, her husband and sister by her side.  The surgery has been such a blessing and she’s been surrounded with emotional support from her family and friends.  Siu Lu is finally at home with her family and we pray that over the next 6 to 9 months her body will heal putting the risks of the surgery behind her.

Unfortunately, this medical miracle has come with extensive costs many of which are not fully covered under her insurance plan.  In addition to the lung transplant itself, doctors’ visits, specialist evaluations, medical procedures, medications and transportation costs have been overwhelming.  Siu Lu currently sees 4 to 5 different specialists monthly and takes 15 different medications daily to keep her immune system healthy.  She must travel to Columbia Presbyterian once a week for at least the next few years to ensure her body doesn’t reject the new lung and for the near term will need to have weekly and monthly procedures as follows:

Physical Therapy – two times a week
CT scan’s – every week
X-Ray’s – every week
Ultrasounds – every week
Blood Work – every week
Pulmonary Function Test – every week
MRI’s – once a month
Heart Catheterization – a few times a year
Bronchoscopies – a few times a year 

With your help we can ease the burden of these enormous expenses – it will be life changing and deeply appreciated.
Many thanks,
Mary, Jack and Nicholas