Happy new birthday to you!

We are so happy for our patients who recently received their lifesaving transplants! Many people are unaware of the lifetime of expenses related to transplants and the essential medications and follow-up care. NFT is dedicated to helping these patients continue to raise funds so they can return to a normal life without worrying about the expenses.

Kerry Baumann (lung/liver/pancreas) at Duke Univ. Medical Center

Ellen Broner (stem cell) at Univ. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

John Cusimano (kidney) at Mayo Clinic in Florida

Anthony Hollaway (double-lung) at Univ. of Texas in San Antonio

Lolita Lee (kidney) at Medical University of South Carolina

Scott McCoy (heart) at Emory Transplant Center

Miguel Nunez (liver) at Tampa General Hospital

Clara Woolley (liver) at Univ. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

A Country Wedding Fundraiser

NFT patient Karen Ettinger needs a double-lung transplant to survive. Her twin brother, Kevin, wanted a way to help her raise funds for the lifesaving treatment. He owns a collection of antique wedding dresses and invited people to his home to see the collection, while raising funds in honor of NFT.

They raised nearly $6,000, and the event was such a huge success that they may hold a second one in the spring! A portion of the funds raised came from a raffle in which lucky winners received items such as a christening gown and a gift certificate from designer Alfred Angelo.

The Journey of a Double-Lung Transplant Recipient

When he was just 2 years old, Cody was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a lung disease that affects about 30,000 people in the United States. Though he was able to live a relatively normal life and was only hospitalized once because of his illness, his health began to worsen in 2009. Last year Cody spent almost 3 months in and out of the hospital, including several stays in the ICU.

Click here to watch a short video of Cody's transplant journey.

NFT Patients Who Received Transplants in October

We are thrilled for the NFT patients who received their transplants last month, and we wish them all the best during recovery!

• Kevin Bolin (double-lung) at Duke University Medical Center

• Doris Coley (liver) at Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute


• Chris Coverdale (kidney) at Shands at the University of Florida


• Tony Feggins (kidney) at Emory Transplant Center


• John Schmitz (liver) at Mayo Clinic in Rochester

As you may already know, NFT provides services to transplant candidates awaiting organ and/or tissue transplants, as well as patients who have already received their transplants.
To learn more about NFT and our transplant fundraising services, visit the FAQ page on our website.

Man To Run NYC Marathon After Double-Lung Transplant

From CBSNewYork.com:

A Connecticut man is running his first marathon next month. That might not sound unusual except for the fact that last fall he couldn’t walk across a room.

One year ago, Tim Sweeney could barely walk without wearing an oxygen mask. One year ago, both Tim and his wife, Beth, believed his days were numbered, reports CBS 2′s Dana Tyler.

“I always knew there was something different when I grew up. I always had a slight cough in the morning, but as the day went on, it became less and less,” Tim said.

For years, he had no idea that he’d been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 2 years old. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder in which the body produces a thick mucous that clogs the lungs and hampers digestion.

Tim never missed a day of school, though. His mother gave him the proper medications; his father pushed him to be athletic. They didn’t label him.

“He was so young. We didn’t want to stop him from doing anything, to be as normal as possible, to play with his brothers and do what everybody else did, so we didn’t tell him when he was young,” Tim’s mother, Rose Sweeney, said.

Tim was always athletic. He finished college and worked as a fitness trainer. When he and Beth started dating, she heard something in his chest, and insisted he see a doctor.

“They asked, ‘how long have you known you had cystic fibrosis,’ and I was 26, 27, and I was like, ‘whoa,’” Tim said. “To me, it was a bombshell. Now, all of a sudden, it was real. I looked it up, life expectancy was 37 or something. It was a major shock.”

That was in 2004. Tim said he felt fine and always thought he could beat it, but in 2007 – soon after the couple married – his health began to decline.

They were able to have a baby through in vitro fertilization, but doctors told the new father he had 18 months to live if he didn’t undergo a lung transplant.

Tim recalled the agonizing wait for a donor.

“There’s someone out there leading a normal life. Typically it’s an accident victim, so it’s sudden,” Tim said. “It’s such a tragic and beautiful thing all at once. You know it’s going to happen.”

When his normal treatments failed last fall, Tim was unable to breathe on his own. With double pneumonia, Sweeney was quickly moved to the top of the list for a rare double lung transplant.

“I was 120 pounds, I was so weak, eyes sunken in, losing hair,” Tim said.

After three false alarms, Dr. Joshua Sonnett transplanted the lungs of a 25-year-old accident victim last Nov. 10, saving Tim Sweeney’s life.

“Medically, he was at a point, he was around 20 percent of where he should be. He lost 80 percent of his lung function,” Dr. Sonnett said. “Once you get in the 20 percent range, basically in a window, if he got an infection he could have died.”

Only 100 double lung transplants are performed in the United States each year. Tim woke up in intensive care wondering how the transplant went, when Dr. Sonnett shocked him with a question.

“He said, ‘I understand you’re a trainer. I just did the NYC marathon,’ and I thought that would have been great, especially with new lungs,” Tim said. “He said, ‘Why don’t we do that?’”

“He said, ‘I’ll run it with you next year.’ I didn’t expect him to do it,” Dr. Sonnett said. “[But] I knew he could, I knew he could.”

Dr. Sonnett said Tim’s lifelong commitment to a good diet and exercise – even walking the hospital corridors with weights – ensured his speedy recovery. He was released from the hospital in a week, and there’s still been no infection and no rejection.

“He woke up every night, for every night for two years, having coughing fits,” Beth said. “[Now] there was no coughing, no heavy breathing, no oxygen sound. I’m lying there, dead silent – we just started laughing.”

And now, there’s no stopping him. Beth designed T-shirts to raise money for medical costs and cystic fibrosis, and be his coach.

“I try to get him to lengthen his stride and lean forward a bit,” Beth said. “I run behind him on these things so he doesn’t get an injury that day.”

The little boy with the cough now has wings on his heels, and he doesn’t run alone. He’s grateful to his doctors, the donor and his family.

“It felt like something…I was doing something I was born to do,” Tim said. “This is what came natural to me, to go outside and go running.”

Tim Sweeney’s first marathon will be on Nov. 7, and even though it’s Dr. Sonnett’s fourth, he said it’ll be tough keeping up with Tim and his new lungs.

Tim and Beth hope his story inspires others waiting for organ transplants – that they know that yes, it’s a long and often dire road, but there are heroes all around us sharing the gift of life.

October Patient of the Month: Vicki Lauer

In 2004, Vicki was in an accident that caused an inhalation injury. She awoke in the ICU after being in a coma for two days, and she was diagnosed with end-stage lung disease. Her disease has worsened over the years, and doctors say a double-lung transplant is essential to her survival. While she awaits her lifesaving transplant, she depends on an oxygen tank 24 hours a day.

Her illness has caused many challenges for Vicki, emotionally, physically and personally. However, she is grateful for the lessons she has learned, and she looks forward to receiving a second chance at life. Vicki says if she is blessed with her transplant, she will spend more time paying attention to the truly important things in life and encourage others to do the same.

A double-lung transplant costs approximately $650,000. And that's only the beginning. Before the hospital will add her to the transplant waiting list, she must raise $40,000.

Although she loves her work as a clothing designer, she is currently unable to work because cutting and draping the fabrics is too physically taxing, adding to her financial strain. Because she lives more than 175 miles from the transplant center in New Orleans, she must temporarily relocate to be near the hospital during recovery, incurring significant expenses for travel, food and lodging.

To learn more or to donate to NFT to assist Vicki with her transplant-related expenses, visit her web bio of the NFT website.

August Patient of the Month: Cody Sheets

When he was just 2 years old, Cody was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a lung disease that affects about 30,000 people in the United States. Though he was able to live a relatively normal life and was only hospitalized once because of his illness, his health began to worsen in 2009. Last year Cody spent almost 3 months in and out of the hospital, including several stays in the ICU.

Doctors told Cody a double-lung transplant was critical to his survival. Thankfully, he received his lifesaving transplant August 4 and is doing well. We wish him the very best in his recovery!

A double-lung transplant costs approximately $650,000. And that's only the beginning. Cody faces significant medical expenses related to his transplant. For the rest of his life, he will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications. The cost of post-transplant medications can range from $2,000 to $5,000 per month--and they are as critical to his survival as the transplant itself.

Cody's hometown of Yukon, OK has dedicated Saturday, August 28 to Cody as they have multiple events planned throughout the city in his honor. Events include a car show, pancake breakfast, motorcycle run, golf tournament and run/walk.


If you live in the Oklahoma City area and would like to be involved at any of these events, e-mail us at info@transplants.org so we can connect you with the appropriate volunteer in Cody's campaign. If you would like to make a donation to NFT in honor of Cody, visit his web bio on the NFT site.

NFT Patients Who Received Transplants in June

Everyone at NFT is so excited for our patients who received lifesaving transplants last month!

• John Bafford (heart) at Medical University of South Carolina


• Mandi Batson (double-lung) at Duke University Medical Center


• Ronald Davis (kidney) at Loma Linda University Medical Center


• Vicki Hancock (bone marrow) at Emory Transplant Center


• Trevis Hockaday (heart) at University of North Carolina Hospital


• Amanda Keys (heart) at Children's Hospital of Michigan

Three Heart Transplant Recipients to Compete in Iron Man Triathlon

Three transplant athletes will compete in the PPD Beach2Battleship Iron Man relay in November!

NFT patient Brian Barndt received a heart transplant in 2005 and has since received multiple medals at the transplant games. Heart transplant recipient Kyle Garlett will also participate, along with Mark Black, who is a heart and double-lung transplant recipient.

The men hope to use this opportunity as a way to raise awareness about the vital need for organ donors. NFT wishes them the best of luck and we look forward to following them on this journey!

Cody Sheets Battles Cystic Fibrosis

This article is from NewsOK.com, powered by The Oklahoman.

In elementary school, when all the other children bolted outside for recess, Cody Sheets dutifully reported to the nurse's station. While his classmates were busy with playground games, he was receiving breathing treatment.

Sheets was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 2 years old. He's kept it at bay with medicine and treatment for most of his life, managing to attend school and work at a motorcycle shop after graduating from Mustang High School.

But in April 2009, his health took a turn for the worse. Now 23, Sheets has spent the past year in and out of the hospital — often in the intensive care unit — and the stays sometimes last longer than a month. He needs a double-lung transplant to survive.

For Sheets and his mother, Terrie Morris, that means waiting patiently for a donor and fundraising for the estimated $650,000 cost of the procedure. It's difficult to predict just how long he will have to wait, but it could be anywhere from six months to two years, Morris said.

"It's a scary process,” she said. "There's nothing I want more than my kid to take a breath that doesn't hurt.”

Morris spoke from her son's hospital room in the intensive care unit at OU Medical Center. Sheets was unable to give an interview because he was hooked up to a machine that regulates his breathing and ensures he doesn't get too much carbon dioxide in his lungs.

Morris was hopeful that they would soon move to a regular hospital room, and she remains optimistic about Sheets' transplant prospects.

"We feel, pretty much from his statistics, that he's at the top of his list,” Morris said.

Sheets always has had a positive attitude about his condition, Morris said. He didn't get to have the sleepovers and parties that most children experience, but he tried to live a normal life as much as possible — even though no one would consider 30 to 40 pills and up to eight nebulizer treatments a day normal.

In high school, Sheets didn't even tell most of his friends he had cystic fibrosis for a long time. "Finally, he just went on his MySpace one day and told everything,” Morris said. "He didn't really want all the attention on him. He didn't want to be treated differently.”

Sheets' desire to live as much of a normal life as possible persists. He is a member of a car club, where his beloved Dodge SRT-4 has been dubbed "Black Beauty.” The club has been "a good support group for him,” Morris said. One day at the hospital, 25 club members showed up to visit at one time.

He also has a passion for tattoos, although doctors have told him to put that on hold for the time being, at least until the transplant and probably for a while afterward, too.

"Some people look at art on a wall; he looks at art on (his) body,” Morris said. Pretty much everything Sheets does now is colored by the prospect of a lung transplant — he has to stay within about 30 minutes of the hospital at all times. Venturing outside that radius, such as when Sheets is craving Eischen's fried chicken in Okarche, requires his doctor's permission.

Morris spends her time organizing as many fundraising events as she can. Even after the cost of the transplant, the necessary anti-rejection medicine could cost up to $5,000 a month.

Upcoming fundraising events include a garage sale in Yukon this weekend and a "Day for Cody” in Mustang in August that will feature a car show, motorcycle run and golf tournament.

Having a child with cystic fibrosis hasn't been easy for Morris, but she's quick to credit her faith for helping her wade through the challenges.

"I believe that God has just provided this unknown strength,” she said. "I don't leave the hospital afraid that I won't see him again. We don't panic — we just can't at this point.”

To learn more about Cody, visit NewsOK.com or read his bio on the NFT website.