My name is Cynthia Randall, a 54-year-old resident of Niagara Falls, NY. I am the mother of three (ages 36, 28 and 26) and grandmother of four (ages 19, 16, 9 and 6) and I need a lung transplant to survive. In 2002, I was diagnosed with dyspnea (difficulty in breathing resulting in shortness of breath) and emphysema. I have been slowly losing lung capacity since this diagnosis. Breathing is something most of us take for granted. I know I did.
As I continue to fight the battel of lung disease, my lungs are rapidly deteriorating and the time has arrived for me to be placed on the transplant waiting list. Organ transplantation is life-saving but extremely expensive even with insurance. The recovery period for a lung transplant, barring any complications, is four months. I am required to stay near the hospital during this time so I will incur out-of-pocket relocation costs for me and my caregiver. I will need help with exceedingly expensive immunosuppressant medications which I will have to take for the rest of my life as well as many other uninsured transplant-related costs.
The medical professionals on my team at Cleveland Clinic recommended fundraising to ease this financial burden. There is an urgent need for fundraising to begin as soon as possible. Those funds raised previously are almost exhausted due to my trips to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio for treatment. So once again I am reaching out to all my family, friends and the community for help. Without your help, I will not be able to be put on the list for this life-changing surgery, my second chance at living a normal life.
A fundraising campaign in my 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.
I pray I have the chance to spend more time with my children and to watch my grandchild grow. They are my life. In my dreams I am healthy and can dance again. Please help my dream come true. Thank you for your prayers, support and generosity.
With sincere gratitude,
Cynthia Randall
716-990-0965
