Here’s the press release National Foundation for Transplants:
Asheville, N.C., Aug. 16, 2013 –In 2008, Norman Lillie, 61, was diagnosed with a life-threatening liver disease. Doctors say a liver transplant is critical to his survival.
The average liver transplant costs approximately $575,000. And that’s only the beginning. Even with health coverage, which will assist with the expenses, he faces considerable medical expenses related to his transplant. For the rest of his life, he will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications. Post-transplant medications are very pricey, and they are as critical to his survival as the transplant itself.
When he receives his transplant, he will have to relocate more than 250 miles from his home to be near the transplant center for at least three weeks, incurring substantial expenses for travel, food and lodging.
To help alleviate the financial burden, Lillie turned to the National Foundation for Transplants (NFT) for assistance with some of these financial burdens. NFT is a nonprofit organization that helps patients raise funds to pay for transplant-related expenses.
“My heart goes out to Norman,” said Claire Prince, NFT fundraising consultant. “I know he wants nothing more than to spend many more years with his precious grandchildren and great-grandchildren. At NFT, we’re dedicated to helping him raise the funds he needs, so he can focus on his health, not the soaring medical bills.”
A flea market is being held Friday, Aug. 23 and Saturday, Aug. 24 in Lillie’s honor. The sale, which will include a silent auction, will begin at 8 a.m. on both days at Common Ground, 97 Weaverville Rd. in Asheville.
For more information, contact Donna Bogren at Donna.bogren@yahoo.com.
To make a tax-deductible donation in honor of Lillie, please send a contribution to the NFT North Carolina Transplant Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119. Please be sure to write “in honor of Norman Lillie” on the memo line. Secure donations also can be made online at www.transplants.org–select “Find an NFT Patient” to locate Lillie.
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 to transplant patients by organizing fundraising campaigns in the patients’ own communities. NFT’s fundraising campaigns have generated nearly $65 million to assist patients. NFT 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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