Join Tiffany's Fight for a New Breath of Life

Tiffany Haines is a 35-year-old wife and mom of 4 boys and 2 fur babies. After a few years of being misdiagnosed, in 2015 she was officially diagnosed with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Bronchiectasis is a debilitating disease affecting the lungs’ airways becoming damaged, making it hard to clear mucus. Some lungs become so damaged the only treatment is for a lung transplant. Along with her bronchiectasis, her mucus constantly has tested positive for a bacteria called Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and in more recent years, MRSA/Staph, making treatment very challenging. Along with Bronchiectasis, she has been diagnosed with severe sinusitis, thrombocytopenia, which has led to many hospitalizations and surgeries also. Tiffany has been visiting the Cleveland Clinic for a couple years now, where they continue to monitor her. Over the last several years her lung function has continued to decline. Her last visit there showed her Pulmonary Function was at 23% and her 6-minute walking test showed her increased need for supplemental oxygen during the day along with her nighttime regime. Her last hospitalization was due to coughing up lots of blood and not able to control it. All this is leading to be closer to needing a bilateral Lung transplant.

For the lung transplant procedure, it will require a minimum of 21-day hospital stay as long as there are no complications. When she is discharged from the hospital, it is a requirement to remain within one hour drive from there for 6-8 weeks. It is also a requirement from the lung transplant program to have 3-4 identified support persons as a part of her transplant care plan and to have one identified as primary care partner. What this means is Tiffany and part of her family will have to afford lodging in Cleveland to help care for her and have a team to help run her household back at home for her children.

Since Tiffany’s health insurance doesn’t cover some of the additional costs it is with the guidance of the Cleveland Clinic for Tiffany and her family to prepare for the future by establishing funds for the upcoming procedure. In order to be placed on the transplant list they ask each patient to have $25,000 in savings to cover the added costs, such as lodging, medication co-pays, and the microspirometer. It is advised to start fundraising for these expenses now in anticipation of her needing the procedure sooner.

We are asking for you to be a part of her health journey by supporting Tiffany, her family, and caregivers in their time of need. Let’s help Tiffany finally breath with ease!

We encourage you to follow her journey on her Caringbridge.org page. A GoFundMe account will be set up and linked to this page. We will be very appreciative of any donations that are contributed. You will be able to make a monetary donation, purchase gift cards or provide meals for her children.