Bake sale to help lung transplant patient with expenses

I'm always ready to help promote fundraisers for organ transplant patients who are faced with huge expenses in order to get a life-saving transplant. This article puts the financial burden in perspective.

Lancaster Eagle Gazette

Lancaster, Ohio– Terrie Dean, 56, was diagnosed with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2005. Her condition has since worsened, and she now constantly depends on an oxygen tank, which limits her mobility. Doctors say her only hope for a second chance at life is a double-lung transplant.

A double-lung transplant costs approximately $650,000, and that is only the beginning. Even with health insurance, Dean faces significant expenses related to her transplant. For the rest of her life, she will require costly follow-up care and anti-rejection medications. Dean’s illness forced her to leave her job as a customer service manager, adding to her financial strain.

It is estimated that in the short term, Dean needs at least $100,000 to cover her medical expenses. Because the transplant will take place 200 miles from her home, she will incur substantial travel and temporary housing expenses as she goes through treatment and recovery.

To help alleviate some of these financial burdens, Dean turned to the National Foundation for Transplants (NFT) for assistance. NFT is a nonprofit organization that helps patients raise funds to pay for transplant-related expenses.

Volunteers are planning a bake sale Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to assist Dean with her medical expenses. The bake sale will take place at the Walmart on Memorial Drive in Lancaster. Baked goods available for purchase will range in price from 50 cents to $5. All proceeds will benefit the National Foundation for Transplants (NFT) in honor of Dean.

For more information about the upcoming bake sale, contact Kimberly Persons at kimberly.persons@yahoo.com or 740-652-9107.

To make a tax-deductible donation in honor of Dean, please send a contribution to the NFT Ohio Lung Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119. Please be sure to write “in honor of Terrie Dean” on the memo line. Secure donations also can be made online at National Foundation for Transplants. Donors should click on “Patients We Help” to locate Dean.

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