March 2002

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Mark is a 25-year-old man who was born and lives in Jacksonville Florida. He was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was 13 years old. This is a hereditary disease however there is no known cases in either side of his family. This disease will eventually affect all of the body including the lungs and heart. In Mark's case, his lungs have really been affected and it has weaken his heart. Fundraisers are going on at this time in order to raise money to get him on a lung or lung/heart transplant list. He has struggled constantly with everyday life but he has accomplished quite a bit by completely his high school diploma through Florida Community College of Jacksonville. He was even able to work for a time at a local air conditioning company. His health began to go downhill again several years ago and it became necessary to move back home with his mother. Last year, he was in and out of the hospital and finally had to have a feeding tube installed in his stomach to make sure he did not lose anymore weight. He has been in the hospital several times in 2001 including 10 days during the Thanksgiving holidays. New Year's Eve, a fire destroyed their home and within a few days after that, he was again in the hospital for 6 more days. On January 24th, 2002 his doctor told both him and his mother that he is in need of a lung transplant or heart/lung transplant in order to live. He will be covered by Medicare in 11 months however the doctor said they do not have that long to wait to get his name on the list for the organs. Since he needs a certain amount of money to cover expenses before they will add his name to this list, fundraisers are ongoing. Winter seems to be really hard on him as he coughs and has problems breathing. He uses oxygen at night and has a breathing machine in his room along with a vest, which helps him with breathing. At the present time, the doctor has said he is only exhaling 30% of the air he takes in. Cards and prayers are appreciated.