Our dad, Michael Barto, needs a lung transplant.

He was in an almost perfect state of health a few months ago when a screening chest x-ray picked up lung cancer. He had no symptoms. He underwent surgery to remove the cancer and was told that chemotherapy would give him a less than 10% chance of recurrence. Unfortunately, he experienced a rare side effect of chemotherapy, pneumonitis, which has led to severe interstitial lung disease - Scarring of his lungs. This has progressed significantly over the last 2 months. The only treatment left is a lung transplant. The only transplant center in the country that will even consider his case is Northwestern in Chicago. All other centers require the patient to be 3-5 years cancer free.

Most recently, he had to be transferred to the ICU with pneumonia. He is on strong steroids and 2 strong antibiotics. He is also on maximum oxygen. Despite all of this he is struggling to breathe.

This leaves us desperate for a lung transplant, which insurance may not cover. We refuse to let money stop him from getting life-saving treatment. Our dad's birthday is in just a few days. Some lungs would be the best gift ever.

Please help us give him more years with his beautiful wife, Theresa (all he does is worry about her), as well as his kids - Katie, Melissa, and Christian, and his 3 new grandchildren - Julianna, Rian, and Oliver. And can't forget his favorite puppy, Cody. Thank you. We love you all, he loves you all.