Anthony Lung Transplant

Hello, my name is Donna Riedel. I appreciate you taking the time to read about my son, Anthony. Anthony has had a journey with medical issues since he was born in 1989. He was born two months premature and spent the first year and three months in the NICU at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies Hospital. During this time he contracted RSV, was placed on a ventilator, and had a tracheotomy. Once he could come home he continued to have a trach for a while and had to relearn how to eat. Anthony also had to continue to use oxygen for six years due to RSV and pneumonia. As time went on, Anthony continued to have asthma and needed to use an inhaler and nebulizer as needed. When he was 16 years old, he had his left lung collapse twice. Doctors were unable to reinflate it the second time and needed to do a lobectomy on his lower left lung, leaving him with only a lung and a half.

Anthony has learned over time how to live with his asthma and lung disease. Over the past year, his issues with his lungs have increased and he has had numerous visits and lengthy stays in the hospital. This has caused him to miss weeks of work which caused financial strain. After his hospital stay in August 2023, he decided to start the process to be considered for the lung transplant list for a double lung transplant.

Anthony is a 34 year old, single father, with a beautiful, 10 year old daughter. He works full-time as a CDL driver for a well-known roofing company in Northern Ohio. Because of his lung disease, it makes him ineligible to apply for life insurance.

Donations collected for Anthony will be used for current or upcoming medical bills and house expenses. As I stated earlier he has already missed several weeks of work between December 2022 through 2023 and will be missing more for continued lung transplant appointments. If he is approved and receives the transplant, he can miss up to six months of work. Any monetary donations are greatly appreciated.