Ten months before this diagnosis she completed an Ironman race and was in the best shape in her life. However, in October of 2012, she developed shortness of breath, rapid irregular heart beats and severe exhaustion. She assumed she was overly tired or was coming down with a cold. Unfortunately this was not the case. After a 24 hour shift in the special care nursery, she could barely walk down the hall without having to stop because of shortness of breath. Luckily, co-workers convinced her to be seen in the emergency department. It was there she was informed by her first ever cardiologist, that her heart was failing. Her heart was so weak it could only pump 17% verses a normal 55-60% of blood to her body. Once diagnosed, she was rapidly transferred to the cardiac unit where she spent a week. Prior to being discharged, one of the nurses informed her of the grim statistic that 50% of the people diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, her diagnosis, are dead within 5 years.
It is nearly 7 years later. She is very much alive, but her life has changed dramatically. Instead of long runs and bike rides for stress relief and entertainment, she reads novels and watches movies. Instead of sleeping 6-8 hours a night, now she requires 12-14 hours of sleep in a day. She has had to stop working as a neonatal nurse practitioner. The dramatic pay cut being on disability instead of her normal salary has been a financial strain on her and her family.
In mid May 2019 tests indicated that her heart was much worse. Her only option at that point was to be put on the heart transplant list. On May 16, 2019 she was officially registered on the heart transplant list. This July her heart became weaker and after 3 days in the cardiac ICU she was discharged home on constant IV medication which helps strengthen her heart. She can received a call at anytime that there is a heart for her. We don’t know how long she will have to wait. Unfortunately, there are many more people that need a heart than there are donated hearts. If you are not an organ donor please consider signing up to be an organ donor.
As you can imagine, a heart transplant is a very expensive medical procedure. Lorraine has many co-pays and unreimbursed medical bills which need to be paid. She will also require very expensive medications ($2000-$3000 a month) after her transplant and for the rest of her life. Some of these expenses will not be paid for by insurance. A recent example is a dental bridge and a tooth extraction. These were required prior to being put on the transplant list. This bill alone had an out of pocket cost to her for over $2000.
We are very grateful that she has many people in her life who care about her, and have offered to help her in many ways. One of the ways we are asking for help, is for you to give a tax deductible donation in her name, to Help Hope Live. Help Hope Live is a non-profit organization, that helps transplant patients raise funds for out-of-pocket transplant expenses. Help Hope Live holds the donations in an account in her name. Help Hope Live will use these funds to directly pay transplant-related medical bills. This money can only be used for transplant expenses.
Asking for help has not been easy for Lorraine. She is used to doing things on her own. Over the past 7 years she has learned to ask and accept help from others. This is a time when she needs help. We hope that you can help her by giving a tax-deductible donation in her name to Help Hope Live. Any amount is greatly appreciated. We also ask that you send her good thoughts and long distance love.
Thank you for your generosity.
Family and friends of Lorraine Kelley are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation.
Lorraine has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.
For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.
Thank you for your support!
