Help Sherry Fight
Donation protected
Sherry Heath started having trouble several years ago. It started out with coughing spells which would lead her to the emergency room with a collapsed lung. These episodes happened on and off for a few years, until a pleurodesis procedure gave her a temporary "fix."
After some years she was finding it harder and harder to sustain physical exertion and was running out of breath sooner and sooner. After many trials of differenct medications, doctors simply couldn't reverse any deterioration. They could only offer a slowing of progress. Some years after all of this, Sherry began having trouble with her heart in addition to the deterioration of lung capacity. A trip to a cardiologist produced an explanation - Sherry's straining lungs had caused pulmonary artierial hypertension. Her pulmonologist suggested seeking more modern assistance, so off we went to Oklahoma City, where (over several trips) her diagnosis was changed from sarcoidosis to Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis along, with PAH. Doctors there explained that a double lung transplant is the only solution. This is a risky surgery because of the earlier pleurodesis procedure, and the removal of her current lungs during transplant can result in severe blood loss, and the doctors in Oklahoma City declined to accept her for transplantation. They would treat her PAH with some very expensive treatment and medication.
We traveled to Dallas, Texas and found a team of doctors, nurses and transplant coordinators who agreed to accept Sherry as a transplant candidate. A week-long trip to Dallas allowed Sherry to have a battery of tests run and showed she is a good candidate for double lung transplantation. She was listed for transplant in 2014. In the meantime, she still has the treatments and medications to help her live day-to-day with PAH and the very low lung capacity. Two and a half years have gone by, and she is still waiting for her transplant.
Why does she need help? When we started making 700-mile round trips to Dallas every 3 months, we never thought it would take this long to get a transplant. The medications required to keep her "functional" at home are very expensive and insurance premiums continually rise, even though the coverage received is less. This means more out-of-pocket costs for medications and doctor visits, plus the expenses of travel, hotel, oxygen supplies, etc.
Sherry is a acring, loving woman who would give the world for her family and friends, yet she asks for nothing in return. Though she is homebound, her outlook on life remains spirited and upbeat. She knows she will once again do the things she loves, whether it's planting flowers, singing her favorite songs along with the radio, or presenting dogs in the show ring (she longs to be a part of this again).
Thank you...for taking the time to read through this, and being concerned enough to have looked here in the first place.
After some years she was finding it harder and harder to sustain physical exertion and was running out of breath sooner and sooner. After many trials of differenct medications, doctors simply couldn't reverse any deterioration. They could only offer a slowing of progress. Some years after all of this, Sherry began having trouble with her heart in addition to the deterioration of lung capacity. A trip to a cardiologist produced an explanation - Sherry's straining lungs had caused pulmonary artierial hypertension. Her pulmonologist suggested seeking more modern assistance, so off we went to Oklahoma City, where (over several trips) her diagnosis was changed from sarcoidosis to Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis along, with PAH. Doctors there explained that a double lung transplant is the only solution. This is a risky surgery because of the earlier pleurodesis procedure, and the removal of her current lungs during transplant can result in severe blood loss, and the doctors in Oklahoma City declined to accept her for transplantation. They would treat her PAH with some very expensive treatment and medication.
We traveled to Dallas, Texas and found a team of doctors, nurses and transplant coordinators who agreed to accept Sherry as a transplant candidate. A week-long trip to Dallas allowed Sherry to have a battery of tests run and showed she is a good candidate for double lung transplantation. She was listed for transplant in 2014. In the meantime, she still has the treatments and medications to help her live day-to-day with PAH and the very low lung capacity. Two and a half years have gone by, and she is still waiting for her transplant.
Why does she need help? When we started making 700-mile round trips to Dallas every 3 months, we never thought it would take this long to get a transplant. The medications required to keep her "functional" at home are very expensive and insurance premiums continually rise, even though the coverage received is less. This means more out-of-pocket costs for medications and doctor visits, plus the expenses of travel, hotel, oxygen supplies, etc.
Sherry is a acring, loving woman who would give the world for her family and friends, yet she asks for nothing in return. Though she is homebound, her outlook on life remains spirited and upbeat. She knows she will once again do the things she loves, whether it's planting flowers, singing her favorite songs along with the radio, or presenting dogs in the show ring (she longs to be a part of this again).
Thank you...for taking the time to read through this, and being concerned enough to have looked here in the first place.
Organiser
Kevin Black
Organiser
Amarillo, TX
