Jereme Pierce

Dear Friends and Family,

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a disease that affects many children and adults throughout America. I am one of them. I have had CF since I was born and it has impacted my life every day I’ve been lucky to be alive. When I was born back in 1981, the life expectancy of a child with CF was 16 years old. I have been blessed to have lived well past that, almost twice as long. Also, when I was born, lung transplantation was a new option that wasn’t as well known or pursued. Fortunately today, a lifesaving lung transplant is a viable option.

However, now at 30 years of age, I find myself at the end-stage of CF with less than 22% lung capacity. The average person runs somewhere between 90-100% lung capacity. Naturally, with such a reduction, there are the ramifications that follow that affect every aspect of my life. For the last 3 years, I have been on oxygen constantly, unable to work to provide for my wife and me as I would like and unable to start the family we desperately long for. This leaves me unable to feel like the man of the household. I can no longer carry groceries or help friends move, requiring me to carry anything remotely heavy. I miss walks with my wife and on visits to the dog park I become winded before our dog does and he’s the one chasing the ball.

This brings me to the purpose of this letter. I need a new set of lungs now and unfortunately there is a financial cost to that. I am blessed that we live in America and 80% of the cost is covered by Medicare through disability. Unfortunately the extra 20% of a possible $1,000,000 still leaves me a balance close to $200,000. Additionally, the medication can cost upwards of $2,000 per month. In order to ease this financial burden, a fundraising campaign in my honor has been established with HelpHOPELive (formerly NTAF), a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for nearly 30 years. All contributions are tax deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Northwest Lung Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. If you are able and would like to help, please:

Make checks payable to:
HelpHOPELive

Note in memo section:
In honor of Jereme Pierce

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

For credit card donations, please call 800.642.8399 or select the DONATE NOW button.

Though this is a very difficult time, I believe it is all worth it; I will not give up. I have so much life to experience, to live as I did when I was a child, unhindered by my illness. Thank you all for your financial and emotional support now and in the past.

Sincerely,

Jereme Pierce
707-815-8578
[email protected]