As you are aware Tom Brown is a kind and caring individual who loves to live his life to the fullest. He loves being outdoors and enjoys sports. He loves to carry on deep discussions about politics and the meaning of life. Tom is up for anything spontaneous. In recent years however he has been struggling with a very serious condition. In 2008 he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, which is a lung disease that causes shortness of breath. Over the past three years his condition has progressively worsened and last year he was put on 24 hour oxygen support.
Tom Brown is presently facing the biggest challenge of his life. He was recently told his only chance of survival is a double lung transplant. On Friday, February 10th, 2011 he received this gift of transplantation. He is currently hospitalized at Stanford Hospital in the ICU and improving daily. As organ transplantation has given him a second chance at life, it is also extremely expensive. Along with the challenge of the long road to recovery he is undertaking an enormous amount of medical expense. In learning about the huge costs involved in organ transplantation, Stanford Hospital recommended fundraising.
To help ease this financial burden, a fundraising campaign in Tom’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive (formerly NTAF), a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for nearly 30 years. All donations are tax deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Southwest Lung Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Thank you for considering making a contribution.Your financial gifts will be greatly appreciated and will help Tom make it through this challenging time. He still has things he wants to accomplish in his lifetime, like hiking Half Dome at Yosemite and exploring parts of the Pacific Crest Trail. We are looking forward to a full recovery in his transplantation journey and the opportunity to take part in his future plans.
With sincere thanks,
Jim and Stacey Homem
