Morgan's Transplant & Cancer Fund
Donation protected
My name is Morgan Melton, and I've been blessed with an incredible life story - one that I hope will provide hope and inspiration to others in a similar position.
Just a couple hours after I was born, my doctors noticed I was very sick. I had trouble breathing to the point where I would turn blue. Doctors soon discovered that I had been born with almost 10 Congenital Heart Defects - problems with the way my heart was built from birth. These included Aortic Valve Stenosis (a serious defect where blood could not flow easily out of my heart, which meant it couldn't get to my brain).
The doctors initially told my parents there was nothing they could do. My parents were asked to consider donating my organs to other infants who needed them.
Instead, my parents called hospitals around the country in an effort to find someone who could help.
Finally, they found a hospital willing to perform a life-saving heart transplant. I was flown out of Texas via Flight For Life to Denver, Colorado, for the surgery. They removed my heart and replaced it with a brand new, donated heart. The surgery was a success! Because of my amazing doctors and surgeons, and my parents' refusal to give up, I lived a happy and healthy childhood. Unfortunately, organ transplants don't last forever. 
In 2005, at 11 years old, I was rushed to the hospital once again for collapsing at school. I was in heart failure, and I needed a second heart transplant. 2005 was an extremely hard year for me and my family. The surgery was terrifying, painful, and there was no guarantee I would survive. I went into renal failure and had to be put on dialysis. My parents supported me through the recovery, where I had to re-learn how to walk and take care of myself. I also had to get radiation treatment, which caused me to throw up all the time and lose huge chunks of hair.
But yet again, I survived. My parents struggled to pay my hospital bills and buy my medication - medication that I must take for the rest of my life. If I ever stop taking them my body will attack my heart. It's a small price to pay for the wonderful life I have, but there are also many side-effects.
One of the possible side effects of my immunosuppressants is cancer. In 2012 I was hospitalized for 2 weeks until I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma that had spread to my lymph nodes, my heart, and my spine. I was 19 years old. Surgery was too dangerous. Instead my doctors recommended chemotherapy. I quit college, and for 10 months my mom and aunt (as well as my now-husband Chase and his family, Michele, Pat, Zach, and Garrett) took care of me while I fought through the many effects of chemo - constant nausea, vomiting, endless stomach pain, joint and bone pain, fatigue so bad I couldn't get out of bed, and of course complete hair loss. 
Now, I'm days away from being 26 years old. This year I'm officially 5 years cancer free! I graduated college with honors, and now I'm pursuing a Master's in Counseling so I can help people fight through the pain and injustice in this world to achieve their full potential. In addition, I've spent my free time during college volunteering with at-risk youth, individuals with Autism and other developmental disorders, and I've spent countless nights as an overnight on-call responder to domestic abuse survivors. When I graduate, my goal is to specialize in treating veterans with PTSD and other disorders.
Although I am generally healthy I still have all the follow-up care that comes with lifelong illness. I have yearly angiograms, catherizations, and biopsies which cost tens of thousands of dollars. I currently take 8 different medications daily. My immunosuppressants alone retail for thousands of dollars a month. In addition, I still need frequent blood work, chest X-rays, EKGs, and cardiopulmonary tests multiple times each year.
Because my immune system is prevented from working at 100% I am often sick to the point of hospitalization. This year I had a bad infection that caused me to require an expensive ambulance ride from Laramie, WY to the specialty transplant center in Aurora, CO.
I created this GoFundMe because I'm losing my parents' insurance coverage this month. I will have insurance through my work, but even with that coverage I will continue to rack up medical debt for the rest of my life. This year, instead of a birthday or Christmas present, I would love if you could donate a dollar or two to this medical fund to help me cover all my hospital and prescription expenses.
Any money I receive will go into a separate, designated savings account from which I will pay my medical bills. I always save receipts and the itemized bills for all my health-care expenses, and I'm happy to show where this money goes at any time. Thank you so much for reading all of this! I hope you have a blessed day and a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Just a couple hours after I was born, my doctors noticed I was very sick. I had trouble breathing to the point where I would turn blue. Doctors soon discovered that I had been born with almost 10 Congenital Heart Defects - problems with the way my heart was built from birth. These included Aortic Valve Stenosis (a serious defect where blood could not flow easily out of my heart, which meant it couldn't get to my brain).
The doctors initially told my parents there was nothing they could do. My parents were asked to consider donating my organs to other infants who needed them.
Instead, my parents called hospitals around the country in an effort to find someone who could help.
Finally, they found a hospital willing to perform a life-saving heart transplant. I was flown out of Texas via Flight For Life to Denver, Colorado, for the surgery. They removed my heart and replaced it with a brand new, donated heart. The surgery was a success! Because of my amazing doctors and surgeons, and my parents' refusal to give up, I lived a happy and healthy childhood. Unfortunately, organ transplants don't last forever. 
In 2005, at 11 years old, I was rushed to the hospital once again for collapsing at school. I was in heart failure, and I needed a second heart transplant. 2005 was an extremely hard year for me and my family. The surgery was terrifying, painful, and there was no guarantee I would survive. I went into renal failure and had to be put on dialysis. My parents supported me through the recovery, where I had to re-learn how to walk and take care of myself. I also had to get radiation treatment, which caused me to throw up all the time and lose huge chunks of hair.
But yet again, I survived. My parents struggled to pay my hospital bills and buy my medication - medication that I must take for the rest of my life. If I ever stop taking them my body will attack my heart. It's a small price to pay for the wonderful life I have, but there are also many side-effects.
One of the possible side effects of my immunosuppressants is cancer. In 2012 I was hospitalized for 2 weeks until I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma that had spread to my lymph nodes, my heart, and my spine. I was 19 years old. Surgery was too dangerous. Instead my doctors recommended chemotherapy. I quit college, and for 10 months my mom and aunt (as well as my now-husband Chase and his family, Michele, Pat, Zach, and Garrett) took care of me while I fought through the many effects of chemo - constant nausea, vomiting, endless stomach pain, joint and bone pain, fatigue so bad I couldn't get out of bed, and of course complete hair loss. 
Now, I'm days away from being 26 years old. This year I'm officially 5 years cancer free! I graduated college with honors, and now I'm pursuing a Master's in Counseling so I can help people fight through the pain and injustice in this world to achieve their full potential. In addition, I've spent my free time during college volunteering with at-risk youth, individuals with Autism and other developmental disorders, and I've spent countless nights as an overnight on-call responder to domestic abuse survivors. When I graduate, my goal is to specialize in treating veterans with PTSD and other disorders.
Although I am generally healthy I still have all the follow-up care that comes with lifelong illness. I have yearly angiograms, catherizations, and biopsies which cost tens of thousands of dollars. I currently take 8 different medications daily. My immunosuppressants alone retail for thousands of dollars a month. In addition, I still need frequent blood work, chest X-rays, EKGs, and cardiopulmonary tests multiple times each year.
Because my immune system is prevented from working at 100% I am often sick to the point of hospitalization. This year I had a bad infection that caused me to require an expensive ambulance ride from Laramie, WY to the specialty transplant center in Aurora, CO.
I created this GoFundMe because I'm losing my parents' insurance coverage this month. I will have insurance through my work, but even with that coverage I will continue to rack up medical debt for the rest of my life. This year, instead of a birthday or Christmas present, I would love if you could donate a dollar or two to this medical fund to help me cover all my hospital and prescription expenses.
Any money I receive will go into a separate, designated savings account from which I will pay my medical bills. I always save receipts and the itemized bills for all my health-care expenses, and I'm happy to show where this money goes at any time. Thank you so much for reading all of this! I hope you have a blessed day and a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Organizer
Morgan Melton
Organizer
Laramie, WY
