Hi, everyone. If you don’t know him already, this is my husband John. In 2018, at 58 years of age, he started to experience severe breathing complications that were not alleviated by a rescue inhaler & was diagnosed with end stage COPD. It is unusual to receive such an advanced diagnoses of this insidious disease at such a young age. His specialist immediately began pushing the Toronto Lung Transplant team to assess John for a lung transplant but there was a great deal of criteria that had to be met first. Unfortunately, in 2020 Covid gripped the world & set medical treatments for so many diseases very far behind. Finally, after many tests & procedures, John was listed for a double lung transplant in May of this year! Because it will be a double lung transplant his wait time may be longer. He might be called numerous times to come for the transplant only to be told o go back home if the donated lungs are not viable.His acceptance into the program comes with many anticipated trips to both Hamilton & Toronto before & after his transplant & will mean staying in Toronto anywhere from 6 weeks to three months afterwards. Some of our accommodations will be funded by The Trillium Gift of Life program but transportation costs are not. Many of the round trips cost over $300 through various ride services. Red Cross charges $150 for a round trip but they will not guarantee rides to Toronto from Niagara Falls. Post transplant will also require frequent trips to Toronto for a year or so. I cannot drive to Toronto myself as I have wet macular degeneration in both eyes which I receive injections for & my vision is impaired. Drug costs are also a challenge. John is not yet 65 so even though he has some coverage through Trillium, a yearly deductible of approximately $1,300 must be paid by us. John receives CPP Disability which does not cover drug costs. Can you help with the costs we will most certainly incur? Can anyone assist us with rides? Any help will be greatly appreciated. John just wants the chance to live with some degree of normalcy again. He wants to be able to do the simple things we all take for granted like getting in the car & going for a drive or maybe casting his fishing line off a dock again, or being able to enjoy a night at the movies or out for a special dinner. John & I thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.