Jacksonville Business Owner and Husband Hospitalized Until Transplant

Emily Progin, PR and Communications Coordinator

eprogin@helphopelive.org / 800.642.8399

Release: Immediate

JACKSONVILLE BUSINESS OWNER AND HUSBAND HOSPITALIZED UNTIL TRANSPLANT

Michael Haney Turns to the Jacksonville Community for Help

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—65-year-old Jacksonville husband, father, and grandfather Michael Paul Haney is in the fight of his life against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The diagnosis is deadly and irreversible—but a double lung transplant could give Mike and his family new hope. The problem? The exceptionally high cost of a transplant. Mike is turning to the Jacksonville community for help securing the gift of life.

A transplant is Michael’s only chance of survival in the fight against IPF. He has been hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic since October 2019, unable to leave the facilities until he receives a lung transplant.

Michael has strong ties to the local community. A volunteer Little League coach for over a decade, he is a St. Joseph’s Church congregation member and veteran of the St. Joseph’s Men’s Club, and an active member of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. He sold his local business in 2013 and retired in 2018.

Today, he loves to spend time with his four children and their families—he and his wife of 44 years are eagerly anticipating the birth of another grandchild in early 2020. He is a loyal Jacksonville Jaguars supporter, both a season ticketholder and a ticket sales promoter.

Insurance will cover some of Michael’s transplant-related expenses, but not all of them, including post-transplant follow-up care and the massive cost of a lifetime of medically necessary anti-rejection medications. The average billed charges associated with a lung transplant exceed $860,000. Transplant teams can even demand proof of ability to pay before they authorize a transplant.

Michael is fundraising with the national medical nonprofit Help Hope Live at https://helphopelive.org/campaign/16477/. Anyone interested at bringing the gift of life within reach for Michael can make a donation online or by calling 800.642.8399. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and all donations will offset medical expenses via Help Hope Live’s Southeast Transplant Fund.

Help Hope Live is a national nonprofit that specializes in engaging communities in fundraising campaigns for people who need a transplant or are affected by a catastrophic injury or illness. Since 1983, campaigns organized by Help Hope Live have raised over $135 million to pay patient expenses.

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