Join Janet Gager's Fight Against Pulmonary Fibrosis

One of my earliest core memories was when I was probably still in daycare. I lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, with my mom and my baby sister. To say we were “poor” would be a gross understatement. My single mother worked as a nursing assistant. In a time when full-time nurses made only $400 per week, my mom may have made half of that. We lived in a rented shack with no A/C (again, in St. Petersburg, Florida). Luckily, I had grandparents nearby, so when Christmas came along, we could at least visit them and get the presents and turkey. But my mom wanted her little family to do Christmas together— but it just couldn’t happen in December. For us, Christmas would come a couple of months later when my mom could scrape together a few dollars to take me to Toys-R-Us. If you were a kid in the late 1980s, Toys-R-Us was probably second only to going to Disney World. I remember what she told me when we walked through those doors. My budget was $20… and I could spend it however I wanted. I felt like a millionaire. But you know what? To this day, I have no idea what I bought. That’s not why it’s a core memory for me. I think I remember this story especially because it was a powerful illustration of who my mom is, and what she was willing to sacrifice for me to make me feel special and loved.

Good moms are like this. They pour themselves out for their kids. There is nothing they will not do; no privation, or humiliation, or challenge they will not take on if it means their kids get a better chance at happiness. Janet Gager is that kind of mom. She’s also my mom.

But I’ve had to share her with others because my mom has been a mother to others. She went from a nursing assistant to a registered nurse but decided to utilize her training and experience to help unwed young mothers in crisis pregnancies.

As a single mom herself, she could relate to the struggles, anxieties, doubts, second-guessing, loneliness, and traumas associated with many of the young women coming to her. And for nearly 20 years, she was able to help many hundreds of young women navigate a very difficult time in their lives.

But even heroes like my mom occasionally need saving themselves. That’s why I’m telling this story. My hero needs help. In 2021, my mom was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Google it— it’s not pretty. She was given 2-5 years to live. Fast forward to March 2024, we had an opportunity to move Mom down to the University of Miami’s Transplant Clinic to be put on the list for a complete lung transplant. This was a blessing because Mom had reached the stage where walking from one room to the next would wear her out. Her lungs were failing. And just five days after being placed on the transplant list, they found a match and she was able to get a double transplant.

But the surgery is just the beginning. Mom has a least a year of rehab ahead of her before she is fit enough to return home. The costs associated with this radical change in her life have not come easy. Anyone who has ever dealt with something like this can tell you that the procedure itself is one thing… but all the collateral costs are a different matter altogether. Travel, meals, housing, and all the other expenses incurred by just family members taking care of Janet are not covered by any insurance policy. This isn’t the 1980s anymore, and $20 doesn’t go very far at a toy store, let alone a Denny’s. So I’m reaching out to friends. We may not have much money, but we do have you. Janet may not be your mom, but she does represent in my mind a pretty damn good example of what motherhood is, and that in itself is worth a few bucks to anyone with a pulse, or, like me, with a memory of what true love is and what it means to a lonely child living in a broken world. There is no price tag on something like that.

This isn’t a typical GoFundMe where you get cool stuff for donating at specific levels of support. I can’t promise you anything— other than your financial gift will be nothing more than an offering of love to someone whose life has been an offering of love to others.

Janet has poured herself out to others. We get to pour a little of ourselves out for her. I hope you will.

(Written by Jason her son)

I Grew up at my Grammy's house. Maybe not literally, but I remember always being there. She even let me have my own room, full of toys! I remember her always planning her next mission trip. She's been to many different countries, lots of times. I couldn't wait for her to return home from a trip. I knew she would bring something back for me, she always did!

As I got older, she'd say when I turned fifteen she would take me with her on one. Of course, I couldn't wait! Fifteen, able to drive and a world traveler.

So I waited. Grammy kept going on trips, and I kept waiting. I'm seventeen now, and I'm still waiting. Grammy started to get sick, real sick, right before the winter I turned fifteen. she had made plans for us to take our first mission trip to another state. As her health declined, it quickly became not an option though.

I feel God has done big things for my Grammy. What's to stop him from doing a few more!?! I wait and hope she heals and comes home soon. I know we probably won't take a great mission trip adventure now. But mission trips are just people going out and doing work for God, we could do that right here at home. We can still have our mission trip together after all! So I'll keep waiting for Grammy to come back home, then we can start making plans.

( written by Jamie oldest granddaughter)

Life stinks sometime, but God is always good. On the best days, we can find God everywhere. On the bad days it can be harder to see Him, but sometimes it feels like god is shouting 'I'm right here!' My mother has been sick for days, weeks, a few years now; still God shows up and says 'I'm still here.'

Mom called me not long ago, saying she wanted to talk to someone from home. She was homesick and needed to hear the voice of a loved one. We talked for awhile and towards the end of the conversation, I gave one last encouragement. I told her to pick a song, something easy like Jesus Loves Me. I told her I know it's a children's song but it's one you know by heart. I told her to sing it when she feels lonely and when she's having hard moments. Sing it and keep fighting on.

Mom laughed at me. She said 'You may not remember this , but once when you were little I was having a very bad day. I came to her and said it would be ok and that she should sing Jesus Loves Me.'

Jesus Loves her! He shouted it back then and He's shouting it now. She may be weak and in need, but He is strong and His strength will cover her. This is what I know.

(written by Julie her daughter)

Janet has been a large part of my life for the last 32 years, and my wife the last 31. I met her at a New Year's Eve party and then started seeing her after that she didn't have much, lived in a broken down house, had a couple of kids which she loved dearly and tried to do the best she could as a low level medical assistant. I asked her and her children to come and stay with me and Alabama and her big blue eyes twinkled with excitement.

I was an over the road truck driver. Gone a couple of weeks at a time then Home 2 to 3 days. She never complained and stood by me whatever my endeavor might be she was stay at home mom and was able to help her children get a head start at school and life in general just by being there when we moved to Andalusia where we live now. We bought some land miles from the nearest paved road and had to clear out a spot to put the house, she never complained about the work. Once we got settled She went back to school and got her nursing license and begin to work for a pediatrician in the next town over. Her love of helping children started there she worked four 10 hour days and then on her day off would volunteer at the local pregnancy resource center to council pregnant young women and battered women. Even to go as far to take some of them to safe houses and mentor to them there eventually she quit working at the doctor's office and became a save a life staff nurse. Where she learned how to operate the ultrasound imaging machine and read and explained the images to her clients. During this time Jan became a born again Christian and started going on both domestic and international mission trips serving as a nurse to many of the poor both here and abroad she went on many trips Ecuador, Central America, Haiti serving orphans and poor elderly people of all races, ages, and creeds as all of these are children of God. They are equal in his eyes. She volunteered to head to head our churches Samaritan Purse shoebox ministry for about 10 years. Then she started to feel tired all the time and short of breath. So we went to a pulmonary specialist in Dothan and she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis which is a rare disease that causes hardening of the air shacks in the lungs preventing the body from absorbing oxygen into the bloodstream. We went to Birmingham to the University of Alabama Birmingham to the pulmonologist transplant center to see if there was any hope After 4 weeks of testing and a lot of money they pronounced her terminal and not transplantable. They gave her 12 to 18 months to live. They put her on oxygen 24 hours a day and recommended a longevity drug which would add possibly 2 to 5 years to her life. That was in March of 2021. She had been going to her pulmonary doctors every 3 months and in December of last year the drug started failing. UAB told us to make other applications to other centers and we did Jackson memorial hospital in Miami Florida decided to take a look and put her on the transplant list. On the 27th of Marc received a lung transplant the operation was a success. Due to the transplant she will have to stay in the hospital at least 3 to 6 more months receiving physical therapy breathing therapy swallowing therapy and so on. After that she will have to stay within a few minutes of the hospital in Miami in case problems arise and for weekly checkups to see if her progress is satisfactory. We have come to the end of our resources Financially to continue to give her the family support that she needs to heal and the Doctor say that seeing and touching her loved ones will go a long way toward her recovery. Up to now we have depended on our love of each other and the love of God to carry us through but unfortunately our funds are gone so we are asking for help as you see fit by helping a Grammy who has spent most of her life helping others.

(written by Mike husband)

I will add more stories from friends as we go along. Thank you for your support.