Watertown Tab Article

Transplant Update #1 (4-11-18)

*Originally posted April 11, 2018 on fundraising website*

The support from everyone has been incredible. I felt a lot of stress and pressure when I first announced the fundraising, but people have been so kind and generous that it has made this part of the process easier.

This week, I’ve had a cardiac catheterization, had my sinuses checked out at the ENT, and went to the required visit to the psychiatrist. A doctor said to me after the cardiac cath, “you have gorgeous coronary vessels.” I hope my actual heart is just as robust because lung disease can take a toll on the heart. The ENT said I may need sinus surgery prior to the transplant. When you have cystic fibrosis, the lungs aren’t the only place filling with mucus, the sinuses are as well, and that can drip down into your lungs. Having the surgery and disrupting that spreads bacteria in the body, so the ENT said she would have the transplant team decide if I needed surgery before or after, so it’s not a matter of if, but when.

I was disappointed to hear that news because it could mean a delay and it’s more visits to the hospital. But, having it done before would give the new lungs the best chance, so I’ll do whatever it takes. The psychiatrist visit was pleasant. I told her to deal with the stress of the process that I do a lot of venting and make sure I get my feelings and thoughts out because it makes me feel better, and she said “you know how it works.” Can’t keep things bottled up or you’ll never release your stress. At the end she said “you’re one of the guys that makes it through this.”

I have a colonoscopy scheduled for Patriots Day (Marathon Monday), so I’ll be doing my own marathon back and forth to the bathroom. I hope my colon will be as gorgeous as my arteries.

Everyone has been asking - when is your surgery? I don’t know. It seems like every time I go to MGH it leads to more appointments. Basically, you want to take care of any problems before transplant to give it the best chance.
When I am listed eventually, I could be called at any time, and I would have to be at Mass General within 3 hours for the operation. The average wait time on the list for lungs at MGH in 2018 was 29 days, last I heard. So, that’s the reason you have to prepare in advance with fundraising and everything else because you’re on-call once you’re on the list.

Thank you all for helping me and thinking of me.

Lung Transplant and Fundraising

*Originally posted March 2018 on fundraising page*

At the end of 2017 I decided it was time to pursue lung transplant because my cystic fibrosis had progressed to the point where my quality of life needs improvement. I have been fortunate that the lung transplant team at Mass General (MGH) has been following me closely for about five years as I have inched closer and closer to lung transplant. My life has changed drastically when I think about it as whole, but it was a slow progression to this point, so it was hard to know when it became the right time. When I was growing up I loved playing every type sport, whether it was basketball at the Phillips school or the traveling team practice at the middle school, soccer at Victory field, or wiffle ball at Moxley or down the Cape. Now, I like having a cart at Market Basket to hold onto in case I get out of breath walking around buying groceries, or I wait in the car while my wife does the shopping. The decline of my health was gradual and that is what made it hard to fully grasp.

I am about to start on a journey with unknown consequences and costs, and while I know you can’t prepare for everything, I am trying to prepare myself and my family as best as possible. This page is setup to fundraise for costs associated with lung transplant. My wife, my mother and I attended the lung transplant education class at MGH, and they made it clear that fundraising was essential to the process. Costs add up quickly because the post-transplant recovery is intensive, and I need to go to MGH at least twice weekly so there is gas, parking, and co-pays for each visit and the inpatient stay as well as copays for numerous medications. Recovery can take anywhere from 3-6 months which will require me to be out of work, and unfortunately I am out of sick days since I’ve had to be in the hospital so much over the last few years. I believe that other teachers should be able to donate up to sixty days to me, which would get me to almost three school months. After that, I’m responsible for 100% of my health insurance monthly premium, which is about $2400/month, and I won’t be receiving income if I have no sick days to use. So without my income, and part of Amanda’s - who will have to take time off of work because there's supposed to be someone taking care of me 24/7 for the first month or two - paying the mortgage, bills, etc. would become extremely difficult.

I knew the day would come when I had to get a lung transplant and ask for help, but it didn’t make it any easier. As time passed, I dreaded it less and less. It’s here now, so if you can donate, your contribution will help change my life, and my family and I will be forever thankful. I have a good feeling about this process and the future, I think it’s starting to be my time again.

*My wife, Amanda (AMANDALDUPONT@GMAIL.COM) and my mother, Mary Ellen (IRISHMOMMA4@YAHOO.COM) will be handling things when I am unable, whether it be surgery, post-op coma, recovery, etc., so contact them for questions or concerns. There are fundraising events scheduled by various family members, but I may not be able to attend, so this page is the main source of receiving assistance.

**There is no way to predict what the costs will be ultimately, so the goal amount will be adjusted periodically.

***Unfortunately, donations are NOT tax deductible because I’m not legally recognized as a charity. Sorry. We consulted IRS employees, lawyers, and financial advisors in advance to plan for this and going a route where donations would be tax deductible was not feasible for us. The money will be placed in a trust and used for medical related expenses.