Jeff's New Lease on Life

Hi, this is Ken and Mary Jean Meyer. Our brother-in-law, Jeff Stone (Mary Jean's sister's husband) suffered from Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease that he inherited from family genetics. Pulmonary fibrosis is a lung disease that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred. This thickened, stiff tissue makes it more difficult for your lungs to work properly. As pulmonary fibrosis worsens, you become progressively shorter of breath.

Jeff has known of his diagnosis for several years and has been obtaining medical assistance at The Cleveland Clinic. Until this past fall, Jeff has been able to maintain a relatively good quality of life. However late in 2022, Jeff's breathing became much more difficult and doctors gave him a bleak diagnosis. They also put him on oxygen at this time.

In January of this year, while at a visit to Cleveland, his doctor suggested that Jeff go through extensive testing to see if he might be a candidate for a lung transplant. Thus Jeff underwent the testing and on Friday of that same week, he was confirmed to be placed on the transplant list for new lungs. Even if one lung would become available, he could undergo a transplant for one lung. He was told to go home, pack his bags and be prepared for a call. The problem with this is that he had no idea when that call might come. Jeff's condition was already bad and he was told that it could be weeks or months before the perfect lungs for him might come available. *NOTE - It saddens us that someone else had to lose their life so that Jeff might have an opportunity to live.

Jeff and Nancy returned to their home in Defiance, OH on that same Friday. Family and friends began praying for new lungs for Jeff that weekend. And, . . . by the Grace of God, in the wee hours of the night, early Monday morning, Jeff received the phone call. Do you believe in miracles? Seriously, God's Grace shone down on Jeff only 3 days after being placed on the transplant list. Thank you Jesus!

Jeff and Nancy set out for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Cleveland, where Jeff was prepared and waited for the exact time for his new lease on life. Around 5 pm, on Monday, January 30th Jeff went into surgery. Nancy was notified around 1 am, early Tuesday morning that Jeff received two new lungs from a 29 year old donor that had very recently lost their own life.

Fast forward nearly 8 weeks and today is April 2nd. Jeff was in ICU for the better part of the first couple of weeks, then moved to a wing at the clinic where other transplant patients recovered. He remained there for approximately a month and the last couple of weeks has been living at a transplant apartment, near the clinic. As I type this, we are hopeful that Jeff will be dismissed from Cleveland and will be allowed to return to his home in Defiance early this next week. He will continue daily therapy there along with regular visits back to Cleveland. Jeff still has several months of building strength and will always need to take anti-rejection meds.

So, why do we need your help? While Jeff does have Medicare and a medical insurance supplement to help with costs, thousands of dollars will not be covered. Our request on this page is basically to help with the costs that Nancy incurred and will continue to incur going forward. For most of these past two months, Nancy has had to stay in a hotel. Even when she moved into a transplant apartment, there were significant costs for housing and all of her needs. We anticipate that Nancy has spent far more than $10,000 just for her own needs. We set a very modest goal to raise $5,000. (NOTE: Thanks to all of your generosity and love, we have raised our flexible goal to $7,500. If we get close to that goal, we may increase it again.) While this may only cover a small portion of their financial need, we pray that much more than this can be raised by their family, friends and others that just care. Would you please consider partnering with us in showing your love for Jeff and Nancy? Whether you give to cover hotel costs, gasoline expenses or even a meal, we sincerely appreciate it. Regardless, please continue to pray for Jeff's complete recovery and please give God thanks for Jeff's new lease on life and for the family of the donor that lost their life.

God Bless!

Ken and Mary Jean Meyer