Local woman awaiting lifesaving double-lung transplant
Coconut Creek, Fla., July 26, 2013 – Moksha Colotelo, of Delray Beach, would love nothing more than to take a deep breath. Sadly, that’s a luxury she simply doesn’t have.
Colotelo, 47, has experienced breathing difficulties related to allergies and asthma since childhood. In her early 30s, she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), mainly bronchiectasis, but doctors don’t know why she developed the condition.
Testing has also shown that she suffers from other lung disorders, including evidence of fibrosis and sarcoidosis. A double-lung transplant is essential to her survival. Her case is especially interesting, as doctors and friends say she is the “healthiest looking sick person” they’ve ever met.
Despite these challenges, Colotelo never considered herself truly ill until doctors told her she only had 12-18 months to live—that was more than two years ago. While awaiting her transplant, Colotelo, who has a passion for ballroom dancing, relies on an oxygen machine for every breath, and she is confined to staying in her home unless she’s traveling for doctors’ appointments.
The average double-lung transplant costs nearly $800,000. And that’s only the beginning. Although her health insurance will cover the cost of the transplant itself, she still faces significant medical expenses related to the transplant. She will need a lifetime of follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications. These medications are very pricey and are as critical to her survival as the transplant itself.
For evaluations and check-ups, Colotelo and her husband, Peter, must travel 800 from their home to visit the transplant center, incurring substantial travel expenses. To further complicate matters, it’s incredibly difficult to find irritant and allergen-free lodging, so they must travel in a specially cleaned minivan and sleep in the driveway of her uncle, who lives near the hospital.
To overcome these financial challenges, Colotelo turned to the National Foundation for Transplants (NFT) for assistance. NFT is a nonprofit organization that helps transplant patients raise funds to pay for medical expenses.
“My heart goes out to Moksha,” said Samantha Palazolo, NFT fundraising consultant. “At NFT, we want to help her raise the funds she needs to focus on her health and her family, not medical bills.”
To help offset Colotelo’s costs, volunteers are holding a 48th birthday celebration fundraiser in her honor at the Gold Coast Ballroom, 1415 Lyons Rd. in Coconut Creek, on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $15, and the event will also include a silent auction.
For more information, please contact Ellen Fink at 305-792-0756 or ellenfink_1@hotmail.com.
To make a donation in Colotelo’s honor, please visit www.transplants.org and select Find an NFT Patient. If you prefer to mail your contribution, please send your gift to the NFT Maine Transplant Fund, 5350 Poplar Avenue, Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119. Be sure to write “in honor of Moksha Colotelo” in the subject line.
About NFT
NFT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Memphis, Tenn. that has been helping transplant patients overcome financial obstacles since 1983. NFT provides fundraising expertise and advocacy to transplant patients by organizing fundraising campaigns in the patients’ own communities. In the past 30 years, NFT’s fundraising campaigns have generated nearly $60 million to assist patients. NFT annually assists more than 2,500 transplant candidates and recipients nationwide. For more information about NFT, please call 800-489-3863 or visit www.transplants.org.
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