New Lungs for Yolanda

Yolanda's family survived Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico just one year ago (9/20/17). She and her family moved to Pennsylvania in June 2018, in search of a better life (and better medical care for her husband's pre-existing medical condition). A month after she arrived in the US, Yolanda started feeling ill. She was having trouble breathing, and was (incorrectly) diagnosed with double pneumonia. After being treated with antibiotics, she continued to decline, and was taken to the ER by her husband on Aug. 26, 2018. She was subjected to all sorts of tests and biopsies, but the doctors could not determine the root cause of her illness. She had to be sent by MedEvac to University of Pennsylvania (from Lehigh Valley Hospital), in early September, when her condition continued to deteriorate. There, she was diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (an autoimmune disease), and was kept under sedation, and on a ventilator, as her lungs were no longer functioning. Just today (Sept. 21, 2018), she received a double lung transplant!!! It will be a long road of recovery ahead for Yolanda, and for her precious family (her husband, son and two daughters). Please give what you can today, to help this family pay the extensive medical bills they have incurred over the last month, and to cover the cost of this life-saving surgery! Yolanda is only 47 years old, and has plenty of life left to live...she is a Spanish teacher, a mom, a sister, an aunt, a daughter-in-law, and a wonderful friend and person!!! She has an amazing faith in God, and believed she would come through this illness to share her story! THANK YOU in advance for your generosity and kindness!!!