John Wehrum III, better known as Trey, is a good friend who has struggled with cystic fibrosis (CF) for 45 years. His brother Kyle who also suffered from CF received a double lung transplant approximately 5 years ago. Sadly he passed away on November 16th, 2015 after complications from an infection. His other brother Kasey, at 40, also faces CF. Trey knows all too well what he is up against.
Trey, also a Chaminade graduate, class of ’88, is happily married to his wife, Patricia, and they have 10-year-old twins, a son Cody (#23 in the picture below) and a daughter, Mackenzie. He is a civil engineer with Extensis IV Corporation and was able to work in some capacity until recently when his illness prevented it. Trey had to take a leave of absence to begin the transplant process.
Trey is the type of person who spent his life being as productive in the community as possible as a volunteer fireman at the Garden City Fire Department for 15 years and coaching lacrosse, football and soccer in Garden City, NY at the youth level for the past 20 years. But he was at a stage of the disease where his energy wouldn’t last very long and oxygen was required 24 hours a day. Fortunately, he received his double-lung transplant on January 20, 2016 at Duke University Hospital! For the moment at least, he is recovering reasonable well, although he is still in the hospital nearly two months after surgery.
Trey’s focus now is building his strength while we focus on helping to alleviate some of his financial stress. Even with insurance, he will have to pay for many transplant-related expenses out-of-pocket such as travel to and from the center, relocation to a hotel during surgery and post-op during recovery, copays and post-transplant anti-rejection medications he will need to take for the rest of his life.
To help with the financial burden of Trey’s uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in his honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the New York Lung Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Please, consider a contribution.
For credit card contributions, please click the yellow Donate Now button.
If we all work together we can make Trey’s prospects for the future much brighter. Thank you in advance for any help you can give.
Sincerely,
Dan Purcell
917 991-7366
dan.purcell@clarksons.com
