My name is Corey Pistone, I am 26 years old, and I have cystic fibrosis (CF). I was diagnosed with this disease at birth, and have worked hard all my life to stay as healthy as I can. But the disease has damaged my lungs to the point that I may not live much longer. My doctors recently told me that my only hope is to get a double-lung transplant. I have a lot to live for, so I’m all in for doing whatever it takes to get a new lease on life. I am now on the transplant waiting list for a new set of lungs. My life with CF has been quite a struggle. Beginning as an infant, I have been hospitalized more than 40 times (often for 2 weeks or more to treat lung infections), and have had many surgeries. I have even spent time in an ICU for life-threatening bleeding in my lungs. While not in the hospital, my home treatment regimen consumes several hours of my day, taking breathing treatments, airway clearance therapy, more than 50 pills, gastrostomy tube feeds, and oxygen at night. But I haven’t let all of this get in my way. I enjoyed growing up playing sports, was in the marching band in high school, was on the dean’s list in college, and with my passion for cooking I have worked as a chef. I am happily married to my high-school sweetheart, and I am the proud father of 18 month-old twin girls. I would really like to see them grow up and graduate from high school, teach them life’s Iessons, and watch them achieve their dreams. But I need a new set of lungs to make this happen. Undergoing a double-lung transplant and then taking care of my new lungs will not be easy for me or my family. I will still need lots of hospital visits and take lots of medication. And my wife and other family members will need to miss work to help take care of me and our twin daughters, particularly as I recover from the transplant surgery. I will incur significant expenses that will not be covered by insurance; that worries me a lot. I am thrilled that COTA is available to help me and other young people who need life-saving organ transplants. Your support of COTA in my honor is greatly appreciated. Looking forward to my new lease on life!
The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.