New Lungs for Leah!

Leah Bailey is a 35 year young lady living in Northern California. Leah was born with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a debilitating, inherited chronic disease affecting the lungs and digestive system. Leah’s childhood and teenage years were spent in and out of the hospital, battling this horrible condition. In September of 2004, Leah received the life saving gift of a double lung transplant at the University of California, San Francisco. She spent the next several months living at a hotel in San Francisco letting her body heal, and learning how to use her new lungs. The road to recovery was not easy, and as Leah says, it was trading one illness for another. An organ transplant means a constant stream of anti-rejection medication and the fear that even the tiniest cold that could be shrugged off by a healthy person could prove to be a six month setback in health.

Throughout this health roller-coaster, Leah still spends her time giving back to others. Whether it’s knitting baby hats, or baking birthday cakes, or helping to plan showers, Leah is a true gift to her friends and family. Her generosity and unfailingly kind spirit are especially significant considering how much they can cost her. When living with a chronic disease, there are only so many “spoons” to be spent in a day, and the fact that she uses them on others is a true testament to her giving nature. Throughout the ups and downs, she is supported in everything by her loving husband Benito. These two childhood sweethearts traded vows in the spring of 2015 on the cliffs near the Fort Bragg Botanical Gardens where they were engaged years earlier.  A quote from their vows was: “To not think about tomorrow, but to enjoy the today we are given.”

Now is our opportunity to give back to Leah. In part because of a chronic stenosis (narrowing of the airway) that was present in the lungs she was gifted, Leah is now battling chronic rejection. One lung is totally collapsed, and the other is severely compromised. She needs another double lung transplant, and because of her complicated medical history, finding a hospital willing and able to perform this high risk surgery was extremely difficult. Fortunately, Leah was accepted by Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles for a double lung and heart transplant, because they think this will give her the best chance at a successful transplant. Leah would then be able to donate her heart to another person in need, in something called a “domino” transplant. While she has officially been on the transplant list for almost three years, Leah is only now in the top tier of recipients needing a donation and will be hospitalized at Cedars Sinai until her surgery.

Please consider giving to Leah to help her cover the vast medical and travel expenses that come with a life-giving transplant. Her home is in Northern California, and living long term in Southern California for the surgery and recovery will be a huge financial burden. If you are unable to give financially, please say a prayer or send her an encouraging note! Let’s wrap our arms around Leah and her family to give as much as we are able during their time of need. Thank you so much for considering supporting his amazing woman!