Josh Needs Our Help Now

Josh Needs Our Help Now!

Dear Friends,

My friend, Josh, needs our help now! For those of you who don’t already know, one of my dearest friends in the world has been battling cystic fibrosis his entire life. If you don’t know that much about the disease, here is a link: http://bit.ly/1EcfTI2.  His name is Josh Stokell. I know you probably hear this all the time, but he is an absolute joy to be around. He is funny, smart, likeable, driven and is always smiling and never has anything bad to say about anyone. Even with the knowledge this disease will shorten his life, he chose to attend college and then graduate school obtaining his PHD in biology. Dr. Stokell, as I like to call him, continues to do research about his disease to help other cystic fibrosis patients.

Josh was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1979, at the age of two weeks. Josh’s health has been declining the past few years due to damage to his lungs and is now considered to have end-stage lung disease. He spends over six hours a day doing breathing treatments, in addition to being on oxygen 24 hours a day. His lung function is around 26%. At this point, his quality of life has declined in such a way that his doctors have decided that it is crucial to pursue a potentially life-saving, double-lung transplant at Duke University Medical Center. 

As a cancer survivor who has undergone two lung surgeries myself, I know the scary feeling of not being able to take a deep breath and I have seen the unpleasant experience of watching Josh fight to catch a breath!

We need your help to raise funds so he can be considered for this operation. The estimated expense is $75,000. I know that is a huge number, but if we all band together, I know we can raise the money. Please find it in your heart to donate whatever you can to help my special friend in this time of extreme need! Even if it is one dollar, please click the link below. You can make a difference!

You may be asking yourself, doesn’t he have insurance?

Yes, but insurance only covers the surgical procedure which is only a portion of the total cost. There are many other costs associated with the transplant that are not covered by insurance. Josh and his caretaker will have to relocate to Durham for at least a month prior to the surgery in order to participate in a pulmonary rehab program to build up his body to assist in surviving the procedure. As you might imagine, at this point his income will become strained due to the cost of maintaining a temporary residence near Duke along with a permanent residence in Charlotte. Depending on the rate of recovery, Josh will spend up to six weeks in the hospital after the surgery. Once the doctors consider him healthy enough to be released, Josh and his caretaker will need to remain in Durham up to six months for daily and weekly follow up appointments and for participating in the post-transplant pulmonary rehabilitation program. Josh will also have to be on multiple, expensive anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life, almost all of which are not covered by insurance. Time away from work, multiple pre- and post-appointments, rehabilitation, and anti-rejection medications all add up to be a huge hit financially. Your donations will go towards: Non-Covered Medical Expenses, Medications, Relocation Expenses, Food, Gas, Rent, Utilities, Etc. Josh is extremely appreciative and touched by all of the love and support he has already received and he thanks you from the bottom of his heart!

Please help! Josh Needs Our Help Now! Thank you very much.