Dominic Quagliozzi

UPDATE
Dear Friends,
Dominic has received the lungs! He came out of surgery early on June 24th. It is now just 2 days after the surgery and Dominic is exceeding expectations and going strong. His determination and fighting spirit is a thing of awe. Dominic and myself are so thankful to his donor and the amazing team of doctors, and grateful for all of your support. We are just in the infancy of this great journey, and are finding our way day by day. We wanted to extend our warmest and deepest thanks to all of you who have contributed to this campaign with both donations and uplifting words. It all means so much to us and is making a fundamental impact on our experience.

Lovingly,
Debra
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“Your son has cystic fibrosis and will probably not reach his fifth birthday.”

There are no more devastating words for a mother to hear. But blessedly, the doctors were wrong and my son, Dominic, is now 30 years old. The years have been bittersweet, punctuated by countless hospitalizations and surgeries. Yet through it all, Dominic has lived his life with grace, creativity, and fearlessness. He never allows CF to define him. Today, he awaits a life-saving double lung transplant.

Without this transplant he will surely die soon.

There is so much ahead for Dominic. He’s an accomplished artist, in the spring of 2012 he finished his Master’s in Fine Arts. On August 12, 2012 he married the love of his life, Debra. They want kids. A life together.

As we have learned through the process of planning for a lung transplant, insurance does not cover all of the costs and there will be expenses that must be paid out of pocket. Some of these are deductibles, co-pays, a full time caregiver for at least 3 months after the transplant and Dominic will be on a lifetime of anti-rejection medications.

In order to help offset this extreme financial burden, a fundraising campaign in Dominic’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, 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. Please consider making a contribution today.

We are all so grateful for your compassion and friendship throughout this journey of pain, heartache, joy, laughter and tears. Finally, the miracle we’ve been praying for is here. My son came into this world 30 years ago, our story from 1982 to today has been all about defying the odds. We’re so excited about the possibility of writing a new story for the next 30 years.

On behalf of Dominic’s entire family, thank you and God Bless you and yours, and thank you for considering our request.

Cathleen Corcoran
[email protected]