Tammy Foster

Family and friends of Tammy Foster are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a transplant. Tammy has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because donations are tax deductible for contributors.

For 36 years, Tammy has been married to her husband, and together they have raised two children. Today, they are blessed with a granddaughter who brings so much joy to our family. At 59 years old, she is looking forward to the possibility of having more time with the people she loves and getting back to the simple things in life that she has missed.

In 2016, Tammy was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Since then, her illness has progressively changed what she is able to do and how she is able to live her everyday life. Activities that once seemed ordinary have become difficult or, at times, impossible.

Before her illness became so limiting, Tammy loved getting out and enjoying life. She enjoyed going to concerts, bowling, shopping at the mall, visiting amusement parks, attending fall festivals and hayrides, and spending time at the beach and boardwalk. Most importantly, Tammy loved spending time with her granddaughter, nieces and nephews, and the rest of her family.

Today, she struggles to do many of those things.

Something as simple as walking without becoming short of breath can be a challenge. Extreme difficulty walking through a park with her family, climbing stairs, or even going apple picking. Household chores typically require help, and traveling to see close family who live out of state has become extremely difficult.

Tammy doesn’t want her illness to define the rest of her life.

Tammy is now pursuing a single-lung transplant, which could give her the opportunity to breathe more easily and return to a more active life.

After transplant, she wants to be able to do the things many people may for granted — walk without struggling for breath, spend an entire day with her granddaughter, go to a concert, walk along the boardwalk, visit family, and enjoy outings without constantly wondering whether her lungs will allow her to participate.

Tammy wants to be present for the moments that matter.

The Road to Transplant

A transplant is an incredible opportunity, but it also comes with significant medical and financial challenges.

Following transplant, she will need ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, and many anti-rejection medications. Tammy will also need frequent follow-up appointments in New York City — approximately once a week for the first three months after transplant, once a month for the remainder of the first year, and then every two to three months thereafter, depending on her medical team’s recommendations.

Those appointments mean significant travel expenses, transportation costs, and potentially hotel stays for her and her support system. There may also be additional medical expenses and side effects related to the transplant and medications that require treatment.

Fundraising will help offset the costs associated with this journey, including insurance deductibles and co-pays, transplant-related medications, rehabilitation, transportation and travel to New York City, lodging, and other eligible medical and transplant-related expenses.

How You Can Help

We know that asking for help is not always easy. But this journey is bigger than something Tammy can do alone.

Through Help Hope Live, a nonprofit organization specializing in medical fundraising, donations made in Tammy’s honor are administered through the organization and can be used toward medically verified and eligible related medical expenses. Help Hope Live also provides one-on-one fundraising support to patients and their families throughout the process.

Any donation, no matter the amount, would mean so much to Tammy and her family. If you aren’t able to donate, sharing her story with friends and family is another meaningful way to help.

Most of all, we are asking for your support, encouragement, and prayers as she works toward this next chapter.

From Tammy: I am looking forward to the day when I can breathe a little easier, walk a little farther, and spend more time doing what I love with the people I love.

Thank you for helping Tammy get one step closer to that day. ❤️