Billy Forbes Needs a New Heart

Hi Friends and Family,

I am reaching out, calling out to you for love, support, and help! For those of you who know my father, Billy Forbes - you know he has a BIG heart and he loves his family more than anything, you know he has a zeal for LIFE and loves to laugh, and you know he's a FIGHTER and has faced many challenges in his life with strength, courage and conviction. Now, my father is faced with his biggest challenge - the need for a NEW HEART! After battling several years with advanced heart failure, my dad is fighting for his life and needs a heart transplant to live!

You can imagine, the need for heart transplant surgery comes with many financial burdens such as extensive hospital bills, pharmacy bills, device bills, and out of pocket costs, not covered by insurance. Currently, Billy is in the hospital, at Newark Beth Israel, receiving great care while awaiting a match for heart transplant surgery. We don't know how long it will take to find a match but my father is not healthy enough to come home while he waits. So each day, his doctors are keeping him alive in the hospital, on medications and careful monitoring while we wait for the right donor.

The last few years have been difficult for my father, physically, mentally, and financially. Since heart failure took its toll, my father struggles to breathe while talking, he fights to walk from one end of the house to the other, and he lives each day with a deep financial burden of how he will manage to pay for his medical care without an income. His physical decline has left him unable to continue his profession as a massage therapist. My mother, my father's primary caretaker, is unable to work as she cares for my father. To give you a glimpse into the medical burden - My father is on a cocktail of pricey blockbuster medications for his heart failure - just 1 of these life-saving medications will total up to $7k per year. The pacemaker defibrillator (which has already saved his life once) costs $6k p/year and the heart failure vest that came before this was nearly $3k in more out-of-pocket expenses. These 3 medications/devices alone reach $16k and don't even take in the long list of medications that keep his heart pumping each day. As we prepare for the heart transplant, we know we haven't even scratched the surface of what's to come - extensive hospital stays (my dad could be in the hospital for 1-3 months) before the official transplant surgery even takes place. Once he is blessed to achieve this life-saving surgery, he will be on medications for the rest of his life, resulting in more financial burden and strain.

In his life, my father has suffered and survived many trials and tribulations. In 1990, Billy was nearly crushed to death by a truck, leaving him fighting for his life for the first time and permanently and completely blind. For the last 30 years, Billy has fought to reclaim his life through the love of his family and friends, the guidance and support of his Seeing Eye dogs, and the perseverance and will to live. Billy became a blind massage therapist and managed a successful massage business out of his home for 20 years. Seeing this strong person, my father, cope with this physical decline has been one of the hardest things to accept. It is with great hope that we pray each day for a donor for my father so he has a chance to breathe freely, to live again, and to love his family who he supported all his life. Any donation you can afford to give would be helpful and appreciated as the bills are piling up and will continue to do so well after the surgery. A successful transplant may allow my dad to live into his 80s, bringing more love, more laughter, and god willing, more massages for us all!

"A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others." - Tinman, Wizard of Oz Movie. We humbly ask for your support, your prayers, and for your donations to afford the long hard road ahead. We are so grateful for your love and support. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram at #tinmanbilly