Rebecca Briggs

Helping Becky Breathe, Heal and Come Home

Rebecca ‘Becky’ Briggs is a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and woman of faith who recently retired after a long career as a Speech-Language Pathologist and Special Education Process Coordinator in her local school district. In September 2025, Becky was diagnosed with Obliterative Bronchiolitis, also known as Bronchiolitis Obliterans or “Popcorn Lung.” This rare and progressive disease has dramatically changed her life. In April 2026, Becky was approved as a candidate for a double lung transplant through Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, located approximately 3½ hours from the home she shares with her husband, Eric.

Becky is the proud mother of two children and “Grammy” to one grandson. As the youngest of seven siblings, she has always valued the importance of family. Along with the love and support of her church family and many dear friends, she has been surrounded by an incredible community throughout this journey. She is deeply grateful for every prayer, kind word, and act of encouragement. Faith has been the foundation that has carried Becky through this difficult season. She has remained positive and hopeful, finding peace through prayer and quiet reflection. Even amid the challenges, she continues to recognize God’s many blessings and has grown stronger in her faith.

Before her illness, Becky loved spending time outdoors—gardening, watching and listening to birds, going for walks, and exercising. Unfortunately, these are activities she is no longer able to enjoy because of her declining lung function. She treasures time with family, whether sharing meals or playing Dominoes. She also enjoys cooking, embroidery, coloring, diamond art, reading, word search puzzles, music, and podcasts.

As Becky’s lung disease has progressed, her independence has been greatly affected. Everyday household tasks have become increasingly difficult, and she now relies on assistance for many daily activities. Much of her day is spent completing basic tasks, such as getting ready, walking gently on a walking pad for one mile each day, performing gentle exercises, and making the bed. Simple activities that many people take for granted, such as cooking dinner, eating, and doing laundry, have become significant challenges. She is no longer able to clean her home. Becky struggles to walk even short distances around her house and often has to stop and lean on furniture to catch her breath before continuing. She is unable to climb stairs at all. For longer distances, she relies on a wheelchair, and even routine outings require careful planning. This disease has dramatically changed Becky’s daily life, limiting her independence and making even the simplest tasks physically exhausting.

Following her transplant, Becky looks forward to regaining her strength and returning to the activities she loves most—being outdoors, traveling, exercising, and making special memories with her family. She is also excited to become active again in her church community and, as she often says with a smile, “take back” the household responsibilities from her husband, who has lovingly cared for her throughout this journey.

As Becky and her family prepare for her lung transplant, they are facing significant medical and related expenses. In addition to the costs of surgery and ongoing care, they will be required to temporarily relocate to St. Louis for approximately 90 days following her transplant and hospital stay so Becky can receive the specialized monitoring and treatment essential to her recovery. During their stay in St. Louis, they will incur travel, lodging, meal, and other out-of-pocket expenses while continuing to maintain their home in Bolivar. After returning home, Becky will need to make frequent trips to St. Louis for follow-up appointments, testing, and ongoing care, resulting in additional travel, lodging, and meal expenses. To help ease these financial burdens, Becky has partnered with Help Hope Live. Donations made in her honor are tax-deductible and are used exclusively for qualified transplant-related medical and living expenses. If you are able, please consider making a donation to support Becky’s lung transplant journey. Every gift, every prayer, and every act of kindness brings hope and encouragement during this challenging time.

Thank you for your generosity, your prayers, and your support.