Support Jill Murphy’s Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant

I am Kathy Kline, and I live in Greenville, WI.

I am raising funds for Jill, who has been my neighbor and friend since 2021. She has spent most of the time since I met her in and out of hospitals, chasing a diagnosis. She has been away from her 3 beautiful children since September of 2023 with only sporadic visits from time to time. It is simply heartbreaking.

Please join me in helping her out financially.

Here is Jill's story in her own words:

Since graduating from Concordia University Wisconsin in 2001, I have been dedicated to helping my patients return to the joy of living after battling orthopedic and spine injuries, chronic pain, headaches, and rare neurological disorders. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, licensed athletic trainer, and certified strength and conditioning coach, I believed so strongly in patient-centered care that I founded my own practice, MotionWorks Physical Therapy, in 2011, and devoted the remainder of my time and energy to being a hands-on mom to my three young children, McKenzie, Aiden, and Adelyn.

In 2014, I began having multiple unexplained medical issues, with a heart arrhythmia leading to a mild stroke, then constrictive pericarditis requiring open heart surgery, and then adhesions between my heart and lung causing pulmonary vein stenosis, the latter rare conditions requiring multiple invasive tests and robotic surgical procedures from highly specialized, out of state physicians. It wasn’t until one year ago that a specialist in Colorado discovered that the cause of my returning shortness of breath was actually an underlying autoimmune condition, a hint of which was incidentally found in chest imaging dating back to 2018 but had been missed at the time. This systemic, inflammatory connective tissue disease was attacking my lungs with scar tissue called fibrosis that blocks the diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lung alveoli. The diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (otherwise known as ILD) was a bit of a shock, as I have always had amazing lungs as a three-sport athlete, singer, and marathoner, and have never smoked. A lung biopsy this summer also found signs of bleeding and vasculitis/pulmonary capillaritis. After a trial of the strongest immunosuppressants available, UCLA doctors determined last month that the fibrosis and capillaritis in the lungs is widespread and worsening, leaving a double lung transplant as the only remaining option to save my life.

The journey so far has not been easy for my family, as I have had to travel extensively, spending over a year of time away from my kids in Wisconsin to access the highly specialized medical care I needed to obtain the diagnosis and treatment for my lung conditions in California. As an entrepreneur, I’ve always been a bit of a workaholic, but having these serious medical issues over multiple years made working impossible except for brief stints after each surgery, so I had to close my beloved MotionWorks Physical Therapy clinic in 2023. In 2020, I became a single mom, which was manageable when I was able to work, but since my severe shortness of breath returned in the summer of 2022 after being self-employed with several years of business losses, I did not qualify for any long-term disability through my business insurance or social security. Having no income forced me to utilize my 401k, which has dwindled quickly with medical/travel/caregiving expenses over the past several years.

Now I am being evaluated for a double lung transplant at USC, and I need your help to gather enough funds for the required full-time caregiver, housing in California, and out of pocket transplant medical expenses so that I am considered financially viable to be listed for transplant. This is where you come in. Please help me hit my goal of $60,000 to be able to be listed for lung transplant ASAP, so my children and I can enjoy many more beautiful years together.

#newlungsnewlife #lungtransplant #doublelungtransplant