Dear Friends,

I’m writing to share an update on my health and transplant recovery, and to ask for your support as I continue healing. The road to transplant was long, and recovery is still ongoing.

Breathing has been the hardest part of my life.

Since childhood, I lived with a rare, progressive lung condition that led to hundreds of hospitalizations and eventually, respiratory failure.

Thankfully, in 2021, I received a lifesaving double lung transplant at the University of Washington. While the transplant itself was extraordinary, my recovery has been far more complex and challenging than anticipated. Complications have made the process long and difficult from the start. It is still hard to breathe. I'm living with significant damage to my new lungs, limited lung capacity, and daily respiratory challenges, but I've come a long way.

I’m deeply grateful for the kindness and care of friends, family, and people I’ve never met who have helped me get this far.

Lung transplant survival rates are approximately 50% at five years, making these early years especially critical. Stronger lung function now significantly improves long-term outcomes. I am at a pivotal point, working toward a healthy life that extends well beyond that statistic. With the right care, treatments, and sustained support, I believe it's possible.

Breathing After Transplant

Four years after my lung transplant, recovery is ongoing. I’ve been hospitalized eight times just this year.

During the transplant, it took significantly longer than expected to remove my lungs. As a result, the donor lungs did not receive enough oxygen and sustained damage. The lower lobes remain partially collapsed.

Other complications include graft rejection, scarring within the airways and lung tissue, impaired diaphragm function and thoracic musculature from surgical complications and decades of having to work harder than normal to breathe, cardiothoracic issues, fluid in the lungs, donor lung size mismatch, and recurrent infections. Adhesions and deep tissue damage tether my lungs to my chest wall, making it even harder for them to fully expand. It feels as if everything is superglued together. Long-term immunosuppression needed to prevent rejection has strained other organs, including my kidneys and bone marrow. Everything is connected.

Even with these challenges, I am moving forward as best I can. I support my lungs and overall health daily through rehabilitation and breathwork, physiotherapy, neuromuscular retraining, functional medicine, and specialized manual therapies focused on addressing adhesions and internal tissue damage that limits lung movement. This work is part of a broader, ongoing approach to supporting my health.

Even so, there is significant day-to-day variability with my lung function. On harder days, just speaking can be difficult.

Risks

Because lungs are directly exposed to outside air, they’re the most vulnerable of all organ transplants. Viruses, infections, mold exposure, wildfire smoke, even microbes in soil can trigger rejection or serious illness, so I need to be more careful than I’d like. It often feels like a neverending pandemic - isolating, and a constant effort to stay cautious while still trying to live normally. Earlier this year, a simple cold turned into pneumonia and landed me in the ICU, a reminder of how little margin I have.

Progress

Thankfully, this year has brought some progress. I traveled to specialists in Germany and the UK for testing and therapies not available to me in the US. Transplant doctors there discovered and treated previously undetected issues like pulmonary embolisms in my lungs. I also worked with neurophysiologists to strengthen my injured diaphragm and have gained lasting improvements.

The Financial Reality

The cost of ongoing medical care and supportive therapies is overwhelming and beyond what I can manage on my own. My family’s resources have also been depleted after decades of helping cover medical costs and specialized care.

My transplant alone cost $1.6 million. While insurance covered a portion, I am left with significant medical debt and many ongoing, uncovered health expenses. Even with insurance (including a $900 monthly premium) out of pocket costs remain high and accumulate quickly over the course of a year. Many of the therapies that support my recovery are not part of standard hospital care and are not covered by insurance. This financial strain limits what I can access and adds ongoing stress, which makes healing that much more difficult.

Your support directly funds the care that sustains my recovery, protects my lungs, and gives me the best chance for a long and healthy life.

Some of the ongoing expenses your donation support includes:

• Lifesaving treatments and medications not fully covered by insurance

• Ongoing medical bills and monthly health insurance premiums

• Physiotherapy and neuromuscular retraining to support lung function and strength

• Functional medicine, naturopathic, and holistic care to address complex post-transplant needs

• Manual therapies (myofascial release, adhesion related tissue work, osteopathy etc.)

• Specialized testing and second opinions (currently pursuing an online consultation process with Stanford)

• Quality nutrition and supplements to support healing and minimize transplant medication side effects

• Critical dental care to reduce infection risk

• A safe living environment that protects my lungs

How You Can Help

Right now, consistent outside support is essential to sustaining my recovery.

If you’re able to contribute, your gift directly helps me maintain the care that supports ongoing healing. One-time or recurring donations are both deeply appreciated; for those who choose it, a recurring monthly donation can provide added stability. Any amount truly makes a difference. If you’re not in a position to give financially, sharing my story with friends, family, or others who may be able to help means so much.

I also want to thank those who have already donated, offered help in different ways, or reached out with encouragement. I’m so grateful for it all. Thank you for being there and for caring.

Ways to Give:

GoFundMe: one-time or monthly contributions

Venmo: @anna_g_young (look for the bird photo)

If you’d like to connect directly or request a mailing address, you’re welcome to contact me or my friend Sophia, who helped organize this campaign.

In Closing

Air is something most people rarely have to think about. It has shaped nearly every part of my life.

I grew up an athlete - always active, outside, and happiest when I was moving. As my breathing worsened and I became more limited, I thought losing that part of myself would be the hardest loss. I never imagined how much more of life would change as my condition progressed.

It’s been a long road of learning to live not just with physical discomfort and pain, but with the ache of not being able to do what makes me feel like myself, in ways both big and small.. and finding joy and enough in what’s here, and in what’s still possible. Moving more slowly has brought its own kind of richness, connecting me more deeply with the natural world.

In the small windows when I’m able, I love being involved in marine science and local conservation projects, including seabird and plankton research, as well as my art focused on ocean ecology. Work like this helps pull me out of my own struggles and reminds me there’s a bigger world beyond what I’m going through. And I still hope, in time, to be more active again and to experience that part of life more fully.

More than anything, I’m determined to keep improving so I can share more time and more of myself with the people I love. Your support helps me move closer to a life where breathing feels easier, and where I can wake up knowing I have enough air for the day.

Thank you for helping make this healing possible.

With gratitude,

Anna