Help Polly's Lungs
Donation protected
What could you do with a second chance?
To deal with the stressors that came with raising three children as a single parent, my Mother smoked. She smoked for many years to take the edge off as she worked two, sometimes three jobs to ensure a bright future for my siblings and me. Because of her sacrifice, my brother, sister, and I have meaningful lives. Unfortunately for my Mother, she is dealing with the consequences of many years of addiction to cigarettes. While she quit smoking over 15 years ago, she now has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) which has wreaked havoc, not just on her lungs, but on her effervescent spirit. She is now on oxygen therapy all day, every day. She'd like to play with her 3-year-old energetic granddaughter, go fishing, garden, leave the house, and eventually even go back to work caring for the elderly, but her lungs won't let her do the things she wants to.
She is ineligible for a lung transplant, but she has been cleared to get stem cell therapy treatment. The nearest treatment center is an 8-hour drive away from our home, and to defray costs, we have chosen to drive there instead of fly to an alternate center. The promising stem cell therapy is $7,500. The treatment center's fees covers a hotel room, and we would use any extra funds to pay for our travel to and from the center, and a lighter, more portable oxygen concentrator.
Although she regrets smoking and what cigarettes have done to her lungs, repentence can't help her. We are hoping that this stem cell therapy can.
Thinking about my Mom's life and the way she has helped others, I marvel at what she can do with a second chance.
Will you help us get her one?
To deal with the stressors that came with raising three children as a single parent, my Mother smoked. She smoked for many years to take the edge off as she worked two, sometimes three jobs to ensure a bright future for my siblings and me. Because of her sacrifice, my brother, sister, and I have meaningful lives. Unfortunately for my Mother, she is dealing with the consequences of many years of addiction to cigarettes. While she quit smoking over 15 years ago, she now has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) which has wreaked havoc, not just on her lungs, but on her effervescent spirit. She is now on oxygen therapy all day, every day. She'd like to play with her 3-year-old energetic granddaughter, go fishing, garden, leave the house, and eventually even go back to work caring for the elderly, but her lungs won't let her do the things she wants to.
She is ineligible for a lung transplant, but she has been cleared to get stem cell therapy treatment. The nearest treatment center is an 8-hour drive away from our home, and to defray costs, we have chosen to drive there instead of fly to an alternate center. The promising stem cell therapy is $7,500. The treatment center's fees covers a hotel room, and we would use any extra funds to pay for our travel to and from the center, and a lighter, more portable oxygen concentrator.
Although she regrets smoking and what cigarettes have done to her lungs, repentence can't help her. We are hoping that this stem cell therapy can.
Thinking about my Mom's life and the way she has helped others, I marvel at what she can do with a second chance.
Will you help us get her one?
Organizer and beneficiary
Jen Daigle-Matos
Organizer
West Springfield, MA
Hipolita Santiago
Beneficiary