A Help Hope Live Client Case Study with Rachelle Ledbetter
Part of the Southwest Transplant Fund
OVERVIEW
Rachelle Ledbetter joined the waiting list for a double lung transplant in 2016. In a state of constant uncertainty and fighting a decades-long battle with lung disease, Rachelle had to carefully measure her energy and oxygen while living life in her beloved community and cheering for her Dodgers.
THE PROBLEM
Amid the hope and excitement of joining the transplant waiting list, Rachelle knew major physical, mental, and financial challenges still lay ahead.
Out-of-pocket costs to make a transplant possible would include frequent travel, 2 months of post-transplant lodging, and a lifetime of anti-rejection medications. Housing alone was projected to cost her family $13,000.
THE SOLUTION/APPROACH
Rachelle began fundraising with Help Hope Live before she had even been listed for transplant. As she opened her heart to her community through her Campaign Page, the community responded in kind. The campaign in Rachelle’s honor reached $18,500 in less than 2 months.
Successful fundraisers have included “Breathing Easy, Living Fully” t-shirt sales and a spaghetti fundraiser that raised over $8,800 thanks to local businesses, family members, and volunteers.
THE OUTCOME
The campaign in Rachelle’s honor raised over $73,000 within the first 2 years. It took 3 more years of patience and waiting before she got her miracle.
Rachelle received a double lung transplant in May 2021. “Fear of death became my new hope for life,” she explained. “I took my first full breath since birth.”
The Help Hope Live Touch
Rachelle was moved by our mission, becoming an Ambassador a full year before she received her transplant. Today, she connects directly with other transplant candidates and recipients to help them navigate transplant fundraising with Help Hope Live.
Rachelle’s life after transplant includes riding her bike, hiking, celebrating her 40th anniversary with the love of her life, and anticipating becoming a grandmother soon.
She continues to lean on our one-on-one support as she fundraises for a lifetime of uncovered transplant costs, including monthly blood draws, surgeries, and transplant clinics.
Rachelle can look back and remember the debilitating limitations of life with a 50-foot oxygen line and midnight ambulance rides. What she sees in front of her now is a very different picture: “Every day is a miracle…a cause for celebration and living well.”
“My life has been enhanced by no financial worries as I continue the lifelong recovery of a transplant survivor.”
