Michelle J Watts

Family and friends of Michelle Watts are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a Transplant. Michelle has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because donations are tax deductible for contributors and will only be used to cover medical and related expenses

My name is Michelle Watts and I am a wife and mother of 3 boys plus one weenie dog. I worked as an LPN caring for others until I no longer could due to my rare condion. I am working hard to get a DLT, double lung transplant at Duke. I was born with a rare condition called PCD, Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia with abdominal situs inversus. I am now profoundly deaf and wear hearing aids. There is no treatment and no cure for PCD and patients with PCD are treated using research from other diseases such as CF due to the similar ciliary dysfunction and displacment of abdominal organs. I have been a lifelong patient at UNC, as well as, participating in most of the research I was asked to do there as a test subject. I spent about 40% of my childhood in the hospital but they can’t do my dit because of my high antibodies. So when Duke said they could help regardless of my antibodies, our hope was reignited! PCD has caused me to also devolop asthma, bronchiectasis, interstitual lung diease. This is compounded by an inflammation disorder, small sized lungs, and one lower lobe collape from a fastball hitting me in my back as a kid thusly causing reoccurring, frequent pnuemonia. My lung function is down to FEV1 33%. I am on oxygen and I am constantly out of breath, especially when I move. I spend lots of my time on vesting and neb treatments several times per day. I wrote a memoir this past year. I know God has control and I trust him. It scares me to think my kids might have to face this world without their Mom, while I am still needed by them. I want to be able to breath and help my husband with our 3 children, Ethan 9 and ourtwins Ryan 15, & Dillon 15. I admit, asking for help is hard for me as I am use to being the helper. I was a volunteer EMT and that is how I met my husband.

We were highschool sweethearts. He was a firefighter and also a volunteer EMT. My insurance pays for the transplant, hospitaliztion, and rehab but there will be copays and lots of med copays, plus travel to Duke and long stays. Your prayers are apprecitiated most. If you feel led to help me and my family in our struggle to get me a double lung transplant we surely thank you. Every bit helps. God bless you and thank you.