Ellis Perez

Eillis is a 23 year old artist from Minneapolis, MN whose talents include spoken word, visual art, writing, and theater. Ellis has published zines and is also working on a novel. When Ellis isn’t creating art, they enjoy reading, collecting old photographs, watching bad reality T.V. and spending time with their partner, Max, and dog, Tuck.
Unfortunately many of Ellis’ favorite activities like rollerblading and swimming with siblings are no longer possible due to Cystic Fibrosis (CF). CF damages organs like lungs and the digestive system by creating a thick layer of mucus that causes chronic infections
Ellis has been in and out of the hospital almost every month for the last three years due to CF. They live with an oxygen tank by their side and take many medications to keep them going. Despite the best efforts of doctors and antibiotic treatments, Ellis’ lungs have had irreversible damage. There is only one option left: a double lung transplant.
​Ellis’ surgery is considered high risk so not many hospitals are willing to perform it. Ellis has to travel to North Carolina and get more testing done at a hospital that is willing to do the surgery before they can be listed for a lung transplant.
Thank you to everyone who donated to Ellis's fundraiser! We were able to donate $1000 to Ellis to help them with their medical bills.

Stephanie Buswell

Stephanie is a 32 year old Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patient who is in need of a double lung transplant. She was diagnosed with CF when she was 6 weeks old and has had many complications along the way.
Stephanie is now raising her two children with only 20% lung function. Everyday tasks like playing with her children are extremely difficult for her and she spends much of her time taking breathing treatments during the day. She also stopped working at her job as a medical billing and coder and give up many hobbies such as swimming,  traveling, and dancing.
Thank you to all of you who have donated to help Stephanie Buswell pay medical bills as she went through her lung transplant process. In just one month, you have donated over $3,000 for Stephanie! Stephanie used these funds to help with medical bills that include her copay for doctor visits and other bills that come about during her transplant process. 

Chris Zastrow

Chris Zastrow is 33 years old and living on a constant supply of oxygen. When he was 3 months old, Chris was diagnosed with RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus), which is a common and usually mild virus most children get by the age of 2 according to the Mayo clinic. In Chris’ case, the virus became severe and caused permanent damage to his lungs.
The virus continued to attack Chris’ lungs throughout his childhood. One day, his RSV attack became so severe that his lungs collapsed. Chris was taken on a medical flight (Mercy Flight) from the local hospital to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo (WCHB) to see some specialists. Although the doctors had very little hope of Chris’ survival, he beat the odds.
Thank you to all of the donors who helped Chris Zastrow! We  raised over $1500 dollars in one month to help him with his medical expenses on his journey towards getting a double lung transplant. 
Chris used the funds donated to purchase a spirometer called Spiro PD (not covered by insurance) to help him keep track of his lung function post transplant.

Nicole Fournier

Nicole is a 41 year old woman from Sacremento, CA who has lived with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) her whole life. She is a wife and a mother of two. Her hobbies include spending time with family, taking her dogs out for a walk, shopping, taking road trips, and watching T.V. Unfortunately, she is unable to do any of these things right now because she is in the hospital. 
Nicole was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic lung disease with no cure. 
On January 17th, Nicole’s doctors found a donor and performed her double lung transplant. 
Nicole and her husband Bobby have been unable to work because of her hospitalization. They will now need to move to San Francisco and live within a 30 minute drive of the hospital for at least the next 3 months so she can have regular check ups. 
Thank you to everyone who has donated! You have helped Nicole move closer to beating the odds and adjust to her new life as a lung transplant patient. We were able to raise $300 to donate to her. Nicole plans to use the funds for medical bills, living costs which include housing, food, gas, and more while in San Francisco. 

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