South Carolina woman needs money for double-lung transplant

By Cameron Easley northcharleston.live5news/com

NORTH CHARLESTON (WCSC) - A North Charleston woman is in need of a double-lung transplant, but cannot afford it. Volunteers are planning several fundraisers to help her.

In 2003, Chantay Evans-Glisson began experiencing shortness of breath and wheezing. After an X-ray and other tests, she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, which caused inflammation in the lymph nodes in her lungs. Although medical professionals say this is not a hereditary disease, two members of her family have also suffered from it; one passed away from the illness. Her lungs are currently functioning at only 25 percent, and doctors say a double-lung transplant is critical to her survival. Before she can be added to the transplant waiting list, she must raise at least $10,000 to prove she can afford her post-transplant medications and care.

Just days after her wedding, Evans-Glisson received her diagnosis. She and her husband, Timmy, have three children between them, and this illness has been difficult for the entire family. The blended families haven’t had as much time as they would like to become a strong family unit because Evans-Glisson has spent her entire marriage battling sarcoidosis.

Evans-Glisson, 47, loves being active and looks forward to having the energy to go bowling, dancing, horseback riding and playing tennis. She is extremely grateful for the love and support of her family and friends, as they have remained by her side every step of the way. After receiving her transplant, she hopes to give back to the transplant community by helping others in similar situations.

A double-lung transplant costs approximately $650,000. Even with health coverage, she will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications for the rest of her life. The cost of her post-transplant medications can range from $2,000 to $5,000 per month, and they are as critical to her survival as the transplant itself.

When she receives her transplant, Evans-Glisson must temporarily relocate more than 300 miles from her home to be near the transplant center during recovery, incurring travel expenses. She enjoyed her job in computer networking, but her declining health prevents her from working, adding to the financial strain.

To help offset these expenses, Evans-Glisson 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.

“Can you imagine fighting for every single breath you take?” said Lauren Wilmer, NFT fundraising consultant. “That’s the reality for Chantay. While most of us take the act of breathing for granted, she’s painfully aware of each breath. But she’s a fighter, and she is determined to overcome this illness so she can spend many more years with her family and friends. NFT is committed to helping Chantay raise the necessary funds so she can get on the waiting list as soon as possible.”

Volunteers are planning several upcoming fundraisers, and the community is encouraged to attend:

A fish dinner Friday, Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at House of God Church, 2214 Adair St. in Accabee. Dinners must be pre-ordered by Jan. 18, and they can be picked up at the church or delivered at no additional charge. The cost is $8 per meal and includes 2 pieces of fried fish, red rice, green beans, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and cake. To place an order, please contact Jannie Brown at 843-412-1035 or leolady127@yahoo.com

A gospel concert is planned for Saturday, Feb. 18 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Sterett Hall, 1530 7th St. and Hobson Ave. in North Charleston. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased at Honest John Gospel Records and CDs, 509 King Street, 843-722-9496.

A hat show will be held Saturday, March 10. Event details will be provided in a future press release.

For questions or more information about any of these fundraisers, please contact Jannie Brown at 843-412-1035 or leolady127@yahoo.com

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Teacher Needing Double-Lung Transplant Has Appointment Next Month

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)— A Dudley High School teacher who was taken off a double-lung transplant list in March will find out next month if she can get back on one.

Freda Moseley was taken off the transplant list until UNC Hospitals officials were confident that she could pay for her operation. On June 20, she will go to Duke Hospital to see if she can be placed on their list.

Moseley has sarcoidosis, which hardens some of the body's organs. Doctors don't yet know how the disease develops, but what is known is that Moseley never smoked.

When FOX8's Bob Buckley highlighted Moseley in February, she was seen teaching while hooked up to oxygen. Moseley is now on leave.

Since the story aired, many in the Triad have contacted the station wanting more information on how to help Mosley. Fundraisers have helped pay for Moseley's health insurance, as well as give her and her family the fight to go on.

Many have donated to Freda on behalf of the National Foundation for Transplants, but those close to her say the best way to help is to donate to Freda directly. For more information, you can drop off your checks with Dudley High School treasurer Hazel Miller or E-mail Moseley directly at moselef@gcsnc.com

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Your generosity can save or enhance the lives of up to fifty people with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants (see allotransplantation). One tissue donor can help by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Organs can save lives, corneas renew vision, and tissue may help to restore someone's ability to walk, run or move freely without pain. Life Begins with You

New Jersey lung patients breathe easier

From The Star Ledger:

by Angela Stewart

New Jersey residents in need of a lung transplant no longer have to travel out of state, as doctors in Newark announced yesterday that two patients have received new lungs as part of the state's first approved transplant program.

The surgeries were carried out at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, which had not performed a lung transplant since 1997, when such operations were authorized by state officials on a case-by-case basis. After receiving permission from the state in 2006 to start a formal transplant program, Beth Israel recruited doctors from two of the nation's leading programs -- the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic -- to lead the effort.

"New Jersey needs a lung transplant program," said Lawrence McBride, the program's surgical director, formerly of the Mayo Clinic. "It's the 10th most populated state in the country and it didn't have one."

Last year, 52 lungs from New Jersey donors were transported out of state because no formal program existed, McBride said. Doctors say those organs now will be offered first to state residents who use the Beth Israel transplant program.

The first operations, overseen by a six-member team, were performed last week on Charles McFarlin, 49, of Irvington and Craig Lawton, 54, of Toms River. As the two men continued recuperating yesterday in adjacent hospital rooms, they described being unable to even walk across the room before receiving their new lungs.

"Taking a shower, putting on socks, brushing your teeth, when you can't breathe, they're very taxing," said McFarlin, an executive with the Day Care Council of New York.

Lawton, who delivered auto parts for a living, said he feels so good that he is looking forward to picking up his guitar again and rejoining a blues band.

"All I could do was barely breathe," he said. "Everything's better already."

Both men were on oxygen around-the-clock before they were placed on the national transplant waiting list in mid-August. McFarlin underwent surgery Aug. 25, Lawton a day later.

McFarlin, who had a double lung transplant, was suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease characterized by the growth of tiny clumps of inflammatory cells in different areas of the body. Sarcoidosis can affect any organ, and it had made McFarlin's lungs so weak that he could hardly make it to work.

"It had caused a lot of scarring in his lungs since he was a small boy. He was getting weaker and weaker, losing weight and getting more short of breath. He was dying," explained Sean Studer, medical director of Beth Israel's program, who left the transplant program at Pittsburgh to come to Newark.

Lawton had severe emphysema, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a progressive lung disease that results in shortness of breath and reduces one's capacity for physical activity. The disease, which is heavily linked to smoking, is caused by damage to the small air sacs and small airways in the lungs.

"My quality of life was terrible," said Lawton, who received a right lung at the hospital, which is affiliated with St. Barnabas Health Care System.

As of last Friday, 2,126 Americans were awaiting lung transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the nonprofit organization that matches organ donors and recipients. Other than the two men who received transplants at Beth Israel, no other New Jersey residents were on the list, UNOS officials said.

McFarlin and Lawton will be required to take medication for the rest of their lives to lessen the chances that their bodies will reject their new lungs. Doctors will be closely monitoring them following their release, as lung transplant recipients have a high risk of both rejection and infection.

"Unlike organs transplanted into the body, the lungs have to be exposed to the environment every day through breathing," Studer said.

The five-year survival rate for lung transplant patients is about 55 percent, according to Studer, but both men said they are looking to the future with nothing but optimism.

"I never let these things determine my outlook," McFarlin said. "There's no guarantees in life, but I think we're both doing very well."

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