After extensive testing to determine his candidacy for a transplant, our dad was placed onto the waitlist for a new heart earlier this year. Following a recent checkup, his doctors determined that his condition had worsened to the point that he now needs to stay in the hospital until a match can be found.

Our father has always been a very social person. He enjoys going out with friends and spending the night playing Mahjong or Big 2. He’s well known amongst the Chinese community in the Denver area, and it seems like whenever we go out for dim sum with him, he runs into someone he knows and strikes up a conversation with them. Prior to the decline in his health, our dad would occasionally go to China and Vietnam to visit old friends and family. He hopes that with a new heart, he will be able to travel once again.

Transplants are lifesaving but very expensive. Although our dad is covered under Medicare and Medicaid, he still faces many uninsured costs for the transplant surgery, ongoing medications, extended hospital stay and appointments.

To help with the financial burden of our father’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 Midwest/West Heart Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Please consider a contribution.

We greatly appreciate your taking the time to read about our dad. We feel very thankful for your thoughts, support and generosity.

~Jessie and Tina Li (Yang’s son and daughter)