Hey everyone! As y'all know, this fundraiser was created to raise money to assist Denise Fortner on her journey to receive a double lung transplant for the diagnosis of Pulmonary Fibrosis, that is in the advanced stage. It is a devastating condition that causes irreversible scarring of the lungs, making it harder and harder for her to breathe, even with supplemental oxygen that she now requires 25 lpm High Flow. She was admitted to the ICU at UAB hospital on June 13th and will remain there until after her surgery and post-op care.

Watching someone you love struggle just to take a breath is heartbreaking in ways I can't describe.

While we are incredibly thankful that she is in the transplant program and praying every day for a donor match, the journey has come with significant financial strain.

Her frequent travels to clinic every 2 weeks before admission were already costly with travel expenses and co-pay cost for various tests and lab work each visit.

During and after surgery, there will be cost for family members to rotate being at the hospital with her, which means that each one of us will be missing time from our jobs with added expense of hotel rooms during each persons time there for up to 2-3 weeks until discharge from the hospital.

Long-term recovery needs after transplant require temporary housing and 2-3 visits a week to clinic for testing and lab work for up to 12 weeks, with many co-pay costs. Once she is able to return home, she will be traveling back and forth 1-2 times a month to the clinic for continued tests and lab work. We pray she has no rejection episodes that require hospitalization to get it under control, but the whole 1st year after transplant has risk. She will have up to 20 new medications to take daily to help minimize that risk, and that too will be costly with co-pays.

She has always been a light to those around her - kind, humble, strong, and selfless. She's the kind of person who offers a helping hand even when she's struggling herself. Now, she needs our help more than ever.

We humbly thank you for standing with us during this fight for her life by donation, sharing this campaign, or simply keeping her in your thoughts and prayers. For those who do not prefer to donate to Go-Fund me fundraisers, I will provide the Cash-App and Venmo accounts that you can donate to.

With sincere gratitude,

The Family of Denise Fortner