Wayne Judd

Family and friends of Wayne Judd are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a transplant. Wayne Judd 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.

Wayne is a 69 year old retired Executive Chef and trumpet player who lived an active life working 16-hour days until he was diagnosed with COPD 10 years ago. Nothing ever slowed him down.  He has had asthma his entire life, suffered a bout with Bell’s palsy, and beat a rare Stage 4 aggressive form of prostate cancer. He was hospitalized and put into a medically induced coma with pancreatitis, had to have a double hernia repaired, and stents to treat heart disease. He deals with supraventricular tachycardia, diabetes, and high blood pressure. COPD is the only thing that finally slowed him down. After 6 years of COPD he had multiple lung valve surgeries. His faith in God and his positive attitude has gotten him through everything so far. He has been my rock and has always taken care of me, putting everyone else before himself. Wayne is now going into Phase 2 of the journey towards a double lung transplant. When this phase is complete, he will be put on the Wait List for donor lungs to become available. I am proud to call him my husband!

Wayne attended college on music scholarships. He was part of the University of Tennessee Marching Band that performed in President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration parade. He always wanted to be a musician but became a Chef as his craft. He loves the music of Chicago the band and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. He played in various rock bands throughout high school and college and worked as a free-lance musician for a few years after college. Wayne had an illustrious career as an Executive Chef, hosting high-level DEA summit for Vice-President George Bush and Mexican President de la Madrid, and catering to some of North Carolina’s governors as well as Michael Jordan and Coach Dean Smith. He was a Culinary Arts instructor at university in San Antonio, Texas. Wayne is extremely intelligent. He is always encouraging and uplifting to those around him.

Since the COPD and the resulting constant difficulty breathing impacted his life, he struggles with most of the everyday activities the rest of us take for granted, like showering, cooking, and just simply walking. Wayne must spend many hours each day using nebulizers to help him breathe.

Wayne is fundraising for the costs associated with the double lung transplant and the forever medications required to prevent rejection of the new lungs. He must have dental repair completed prior to being put on the Wait List as well. He has no idea what this will cost at this time.

Since Wayne has had asthma since birth, he is looking forward to breathing like the rest of us breathe normally. He wants to be able to do all the things necessary for normal life without being short of breath and without being connected to an oxygen concentrator 24 hours a day. Wayne would like to play his trumpet at his church and with local community orchestras. 

Please donate to Help Hope Live in Wayne’s honor today, and ask your friends and family to give, too! We would love to plan some fundraisers in Wayne’s honor, too, so if you can help with that, please contact him at [email protected]. Thank you for your generous support!