Support My Journey to New Lungs

This is a letter I didn’t think I would ever write, but as it turns out, breathing isn’t actually supposed to be this difficult. Who knew?!

When I started school back in 2017, I looked forward to graduating and being independent, and even to contributing to organations who had helped me as a kid, like the Arthritis Foundation, Bounce Back Kids and Victory Junction.

Through my academic career I faced both common and uncommon setbacks. I found myself in the hospital for extended stays on 3 seperate occasions, with new medical diagnosises of NMO (a neurological autoimmune disorder) and Interstital Lung Disease not to mention COVID and Hurricane Helene. Following my final semester at UNC Asheville, I now find myself with a new shiny BS in computer science and simultaneously on the waitlist for a bilateral lung transplant at Duke University Hospital.

I am very hopeful for the future, and I believe I am in the best place possible to go through a process as medically demanding as this, and I really am looking forward to life with new lungs.

This surgery will, however, leave me unable to work, and I do need some financial help. I am working on my disability application, but this is a long slow process.

While I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to receive a transplant, the road ahead is physically, mentally and finacially overwhelming. The costs of a lung transplant are staggering. Even with insurance, I’m facing expenses for hospital stays, medications, follow-up care, and the financial strain of being unable to work during this time.

I am reaching out to you - my friends, family and even kind hearted strangers - for help. Your generosity will allow me to focus on what matters most: healing and regaining my independence.

Here is how your support will make a difference:

Cover medical expense not paid for by insurance

Assist with daily living expenses during recovery

Help ensure access to the best possible care

Outside of directly supporting me, here are some other things you can do:

Become an organ donor

Donate blood

Educate yourself and others on the importance of donation

Share my story

From the bottom of my heart (and lungs) I really appreciate you taking the time to read my story and any support, thoughts and/or prayers you send my way. Your kindness and generosity are my lifeline, and I’ll never forget it.

THANK YOU!