Brenda J. Davis Medical Fund

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My name is Brenda J. Davis and I am a retired Registered OR and ER Nurse. This is quite embarrassing to come to friends, family and especially strangers to ask for help with raising money for myself. For someone else, I can do it with no problem because I love helping others. Let me tell you briefly 2 of my illnesses that I have and how I need your help. I can’t write much because I am on 24 hour oxygen, so I get exhausted very quickly. I was diagnosed with Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis after suffering for 3 years undiagnosed. The Multiple Chemical Sensitivity to the toxic chemicals in the environment and the cleaning products in my house was literally killing me. The chemicals caused inflammation of my lungs, which turned in to scar tissue because the inflammation was not treated. This scarring of my lungs caused the stiffing of the air sacs and tissues. In other words, this stiffness reduces the ability of my air sacs to expand and take in adequate oxygen, causing severe difficulty in breathing. Finally, I was diagnosed in 2003, but afterwards I suffered almost a year without treatment because the doctors kept putting the treatment off to the next month. So, I was getting progressively worst. After the third put off, I prayed to God again to give me the wisdom and guidance to find a doctor who would really care about me and would treat me. At this point, I did not know that this illness was terminal. Although I had done research on Pulmonary Fibrosis, I had never come across this site that said in all caps that THIS IS A FATAL ILLNESS AND THIS ILLNESS IS ALWAYS TERMINAL! Imagine the shock! It said that because there is no cure. Those diagnosed usually die in 4-8 years.I suffered for 3 years before I was diagnosed. So, it's a blessing that I'm still alive to be able to continue to fight.
      I was now guided to a Pulmonologist that said I was at death’s door. She started to treat me and in a month I started feeling better. She applied for a motorized wheelchair for me, which enabled me to start getting out of the bed and get some normalcy to my life. Since that time, I have been up and down with my stability.
     I was later diagnosed with Systemic Scleroderma. This caused my lungs to worsen even more. I’m down further than I have ever been. It also affects my organs, which caused me not to be accepted as a candidate for Lung Transplant because of my severe acid reflux. They were afraid the acid would overflow into the new lungs and become infected and I would get sick and die.
     So, one day, I was researching for other options, and I was guided to the Lung Institute. I’ve seen their Webnar about their success with Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis using Autologous Stem Cell Transplant. Here is where I need you, friends, family and caring others. The insurance doesn’t pay for this transplant, so I need your help to come up with the money. I live in New York, but I will have to fly with a companion to Pittsburgh to the Institute. My goal is $30,,000 to pay for the Transplant, airfare for me and my companion, who I need to take care of me during this trip. Also, we have to stay 3 nights and 2 days in a hotel. The hotels near the Institute are over $100/night. I’m also told by the Institute that they don’t have oxygen that goes up to 6Liters. So, that means that I will have to rent oxygen tanks while in Pittsburgh because mine cannot last all that time. When the Institute told me how much the Transplant cost, I felt, oh well, that’s it. I told the Coordinator I cannot even think of that option anymore because there is no way that I can come up with that kind of money. Then she told me to go on GoFundMe.com. I had never heard of this site, but I am grateful that it exist. It made me feel that I was not all alone in trying to raise the impossible.
      Please, I need everybody’s help to raise $30,000 for these trips to save my life. I am getting sicker and sicker with my breathing. I have difficulty in breathing even at rest. I need oxygen even when taking a shower and sleeping. I am scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh on December 6 for these Transplant. Then I have to do it all over again in 3 months. This is my only option to try to stay alive a little bit longer. I’m trying to stay holding on to get to the Institute next month,  if I can raise at least half the money of my goal to pay for the transplant and the other expenses. I appreciate your love and caring to give whatever small donation you can to help save my life, whether you know me or not. Every little bit helps, no donation is too small.Feel free to put my page on your facebook. I don't have Facebook.
Forever Grateful
Brenda J. Davis