Dear Family and Friends,
About three years ago, I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a little known disease that causes severe scarring of the lung tissue and makes it almost impossible to breathe. This disease has no effective treatment and no cure except for a lung transplant. Breathing is something most people take for granted, however, for a person living with Pulmonary Fibrosis every breath is a chore.

Little did I know, after watching my mother’s battle with this disease, that I would also be facing the same fate. Unfortunately for her, a transplant was not an option. Fortunately for me, my doctors have determined that I am an excellent candidate for a double lung transplant. In fact, a transplant is the only thing that can save my life.

On September 10 ,2010 I received an offer for donor lungs and underwent a double lung transplant at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. The Doctors and myself are extremely pleased with my progress. I am so grateful to the donor and the donor’s family for my second chance at life.

The road to this point has been long and promises to get more expensive as we progress. My transplant center has suggested that we begin raising funds to assist with the out-of-pocket expenses we will incur post transplant for things like co-pays on the numerous medications, travel expenses to and from the transplant center which will be quite frequent after transplant, overnight lodgings for those trips, and other unforeseen related transplant expenses. It is difficult to ask others for help. I have always prided myself with being fairly independent. However, organ transplantation while life saving, is extremely expensive. This brings me to the reason for my letter.

To help ease this financial burden, I will be working with HelpHOPELive, a reputable nonprofit organization that specializes in providing guidance and aid to those in need of costly organ transplantation. HelpHOPELive provides both tax-deductibility and fiscal accountability to contributors. Contributors can be sure that funds contributed will be used only to pay or reimburse medically-related expenses. To make a contribution to this fundraising campaign:

Make checks payable to:
HelpHOPELive Southwest Lung Transplant Fund

Note in memo section:
In Honor of Jack Kinkaid

Mail to:
HelpHOPELive
Two Radnor Corporate Center100 Matsonford Road, Suite 100
Radnor, PA 19087

For secure credit card donations:
Call 800-642-8399 or click the “CONTRIBUTE NOW” button.

To email this page directly to others in your community who might wish to learn about this campaign, click the “E-MAIL TO FRIENDS” button and type in as many addresses as you wish.

For more information, please contact HelpHOPELive at 800-642-8399.

Thanks for your support!

Jack Kinkaid
http://jackkinkaid.webs.com/