After being struck suddenly by liver failure at the age of 4, my son Matthew was hit with a series of unusual and difficult complications. In addition to being a transplant recipient, he's been living with a serious chronic lung condition for almost twenty years.

The great doctors at the Mass General Pulmonary Department have kept the disease in check. But last week, something happened. He got sick with some sort of virus, and that somehow caused his condition to accelerate rapidly. Fortunately, he was at the ER at MGH when things went downhill. They were able to stabilize him while they try to undo whatever happened to him and set him back to wellness. We are seeing positive signs and hoping for the best.

He will be in the ICU for at least a week. (He had already missed a week of work before this crisis.) After that, we don't know what comes next or when he'll be able to be back at work. We are taking it day by day.

He works at a small business that doesn't have sick benefits, so when he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid.

If you can help him out during this crisis, we would greatly appreciate whatever you're able to give.

Thank you so much. I will update here when I can.

Betsy

(If you are interested in donating to the MGH Pulmonary and Critical Care Department, you can click here.)