Paul Dillon

Paul and Lisa Dillon met in 2007, fell in love and married in 2011 in Lexington KY…..

Paul’s pilgrimage, the Paul and Lisa Dillon story, as written by a friend.

Paul and Lisa Dillon met in 2007, fell in love and married in 2011 in Lexington KY after Paul allegedly stalked Lisa at the gym where they both worked out. Paul actually took up yoga just to “bump” into her, which he did, surprise! And the rest is history.

The following years were good to these two, with good health, some remodeling of their home, traveling, hanging out with many good friends and family, and working hard at their jobs.
Then something most unexpected happened.

Paul and Lisa were working in their yard which has a steep incline from a creek in the backyard. As he was walking up the hill to the house with some branches, Paul experienced sudden shortness of breath which caused him to need to sit down on the ground to recover. Now, keep in mind that Paul and Lisa are very conscious of their health. They are intentional about what they eat and have always shared a very active lifestyle which included a gym and bodybuilding, hiking, yoga etc. To say this was shocking for both of them is an understatement. Paul was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) in April of 2020. Idiopathic means the doctors have no idea how Paul got this disease. With medications and frequent doctor visits, Paul was stable for a time, and his doctors initially believed he was in the early stages of the disease. But, it did not take too long for the degenerative nature of this illness to rear its ugly head. Paul experienced a steady decline until by July 2022, just after a somewhat promising visit to Cleveland Clinic, the bottom fell out and Paul experienced extreme shortness of breath. He became largely dependent on oxygen at that point and Paul and Lisa began to explore a lung transplant.
In December of 2022, they visited Vanderbilt for a transplant evaluation and Paul was a good candidate. Unbelievably, just 5 weeks later, Paul was successfully transplanted and is currently adjusting and adapting well to his new lung and new life!! His first words upon waking from surgery were “I can breathe!” Lisa has been by Paul’s side throughout this ordeal, even staying with Paul in the hospital room the entire time Paul was in Vanderbilt. She is not only a saint, a beautiful soul and devoted partner to Paul, she is also an amazing nurse!
So, here we are, about a month out from lung transplant, and into a 3 month stay in Nashville for post-op care. The journey for Paul and Lisa has just begun. Now they could use some support from family and friends for what will be a lifetime commitment to ongoing care, extensive (and expensive) medications and a change in lifestyle that will allow for a long life together.
These two are proud, hardworking people who are not comfortable asking for support. In addition to life-long medications which Paul will need to prevent organ rejection, the two of them will need to visit Vanderbilt for on-going tests and treatments for some time to come. In addition to not being able to work for these many months and paying for living expenses in Nashville, Paul and Lisa will have on-going expenses for drugs and medical costs over and above insurance coverage, housing, and travel for some time. Paul is not able to work and it is unclear whether he may be able to do so in the future. Lisa is a part-time nurse (currently on unpaid leave) and Paul’s full-time caregiver.
Paul and Lisa have decided, after much encouragement from friends, to apply for an account through “HelpHopeLive”, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support medical fund-raising and expense payment for those in just their situation. This is an amazing organization that has supported so many like Paul. They manage funds collected and reimburse eligible expenses associated with medical care for people who are accepted to their program. Money that is donated to Paul’s case is not given to Paul directly. Instead, he and Lisa submit eligible expenses for reimbursement through the nonprofit. Donations are tax deductible as well.
If you are so inclined, please look for Paul (and Lisa) on the HelpHopeLive site and donate what you can. It takes a village and these two could use our support.
In the meantime, stay tuned to Paul’s progress on his Caring Bridge site. Lisa, along with Paul’s other primary support person in Nashville, his sister Ginny, are providing regular updates. It has been a miraculous journey and Paul is working very hard every day to build up strength and endurance so that he and Lisa can get back to full lives once again.
Thank you for your consideration and support.

Family and friends of Paul Dillon are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation.

Paul has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

Thank you for your support!