COTA for Stacey's Journey

Our Story

Living with cystic fibrosis is a daily struggle for Stacey, but she has always made the best of the circumstances doing all she can to live a happy life. Due to the complications of this awful disease, Stacey has been unable to work for quite a few years now. The medical costs for doctor visits, medications, and hospital stays are all astronomical. Stacey has been struggling to breathe and keep up with the never-ending medical expenses for years. In October 2022 Stacey’s condition deteriorated to the point where her only chance of survival was a double lung transplant as she was in end stage cystic fibrosis. On Thursday, Jan. 5th, 2023, Stacey received news from UK Albert B Chandler Hospital in KY she would be listed for transplant. She had gone through all the required testing, sick as she was, to have a chance at receiving the life saving gift of new lungs, a new beginning. The transplant center provided her with a packet for Stacey to complete the list of to-do items in order to get ready in the possibility that lungs would become available. It’s been a long and winding road, so we knew to hope & pray for a miracle, once again, as we had tried previously to go down this road to no avail.

Stacey was end-stage CF and could not maintain her health any longer without constant antibiotics, so hope & prayer were always with us. Her quality of life had suffered greatly. It was time for major decisions. She began the process of being listed for a double lung transplant. Miraculously, two days after receiving the official word of transplant listing, Stacey received a call from UK Albert B Chandler Hospital letting her know they had lungs and to get to UK ASAP. OMG! This was so fast we just had bought her the suitcase to pack “in the event of” a call. It was one of the to-do items on the list. It was all irrelevant now — the excitement, anticipation, and thoughts of the donor family and a new beginning for Stacey were overwhelming, and we just had to get there ASAP.

On January 8th Stacey received a double lung transplant.

Stacey has now moved on to part two of her journey. It’s a long road to recovery, and the process of getting her body to accept the new lungs No longer an inpatient, she has had to relocate to a rental property 5 minutes from the hospital for the next 6 months. She spends her days at the hospital doing therapy, tests, and procedures. Stacey will need to take anti-rejection medications and many, many other medications in order to keep these new lungs healthy and from rejection. She will be monitored very carefully for the rest of her life.

This has meant Stacey has had to relocate from her home in Florida to living in Kentucky close to the hospital. She is very much still in recovery and managing some complications from surgery. She must rent a home, in addition to daily living costs and medical costs. Everything in her life has had to change with the miracle of organ transplant. She still requires a full-ime caretaker and other supportive needs. She truly needs some help. COTA is part of this miracle for her. Let’s rally for her and relieve the financial stress that has now become such a burden, so she can continue to focus on healing.

We are in awe of her strength, courage and endurance. She is an amazing woman who deserves this second chance at life. Stacey cannot do this alone. She needs your help. Please consider donating to COTA for Stacey’s Journey and help ensure a successful double lung transplant.

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.