Salem fundraiser next Sunday for local woman who needs double-lung transplant

Staff report

SALEM

Friends in the Youngstown area are hosting a picnic and auction from 3 to 6 p.m. next Sunday at Samie Winick’s Barn, 11335 Lisbon Road, to help offset medical expenses for Terry Bunshaft Gervelis.

In 2008, Gervelis, a Youngstown native, began experiencing subtle health issues that limited her ability to live an active life. In 2013, she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.

Doctors say a double-lung transplant is essential to her survival, said Sandy Grace, event coordinator, in a news release.

With just 18 percent lung function remaining, Gervelis, 57, relies on an oxygen tank for every breath.

The average double-lung transplant costs approximately $800,000. Even with health coverage, which will cover the majority of the transplant costs, she faces significant expenses now and in the future related to the surgery.

When she receives her transplant, Gervelis must temporarily relocate more than 150 miles from her home in Washington to be near the hospital for three to six months during recovery, incurring substantial expenses for travel, food and lodging.

For fundraising support and guidance, Gervelis turned to the National Foundation for Transplants for assistance with some of these financial burdens, Grace said.

NFT is a nonprofit organization that helps patients raise funds to pay for transplant-related expenses.

Entry is $10, and the event will include food, live music, a silent auction, and a Skype session for attendees to visit with Gervelis.

For information or to register, contact Grace at 515-278-8073 or A_NEW_DAY_TERRY@excite.com.

To make a tax-deductible donation, send a contribution to the NFT Washington Transplant Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, TN, 38119.

Be sure to write “in honor of Terry Gervelis” on the memo line. Secure donations also can be made online at www.transplants.org. Donors should click on “Find an NFT Patient” to locate Gervelis.

Proceeds from this event will go to NFT to assist with Gervelis’s transplant-related expenses.