Barry Huff's Double Lung Transplant

My uncle, Officer Barry Huff, needs a very expensive new set of lungs. If you've ever met Barry, you'd know he's one of the most vibrant, life-filled people you will ever meet. An investigator for the Lincoln County Sheriff Department, active member of his Church, always willing to help anyone in need, and Pop-Pop to my kids and his and Dosky's 8 grandkids. Barry is only 55 years old and deserves to be able to see his grandkids grow up.

In 2017, Barry went to his local doctor for what he thought was a little "bug". He was sent to a GI specialist who, after a series of testing, discovered Barry had and esophageal hiatal hernia and over 3/4 of his stomach was in his chest. The hernia was repaired, but Barry continued to feel that something was "off". In 2019 the doctors discovered that the hernia had caused damage to his lung and diaphragm, limiting his lung capacity to 70%. In January of 2021, Barry went to the ER unable to breathe and was admitted with aspirational pneumonia that continued to worsen in the hospital. It was then that he was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and his lung capacity had reduced to 50%. Despite the limitations of 24 hour oxygen and decreased lung capacity, Barry continued working at the Sherriff department and normal daily tasks that now took much longer and were much harder.

In June of 2021, Barry was admitted to the hospital again and discovered his lung capacity was down to 30% and he was referred to University of Alabama Birmingham to begin the lung transplant process. Needless to say, this is a very long and expensive process. Not only does he need to cover the cost of the medical expenses, but he will have to cover the costs of travel, hotels, food, parking, loss of income for him and Dosky, and living in Birmingham for 3 months after the transplant.

Barry has never smoked and has always been active and healthy. Annoyingly, people often ask me if he is my brother. If I had the money to cover all of his expenses, I wouldn't think twice about giving it to him. I cannot think of a more deserving person of this transplant.