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Man awaits heart and lung transplant surgery
MAGGIE ROTERMUND
Bulletin Staff Writer
June 9, 2005 - Darrell "Jackie" Britt's heart hasn't worked correctly for 15 years. The Mountain Home man suffered a heart attack when he was 39, and his heart has steadily decreased in function since then.
After years of medical treatment and visits to several doctors, physicians at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. recommended Britt have heart and lung transplant surgery. He currently is on a waiting list for the organs.
Britt, 54, also has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). With COPD, a patient's airways are partially obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and out.
Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers. Breathing in other kinds of lung irritants, such as pollution, dust, or chemicals, over a long period of time also may cause or contribute to COPD, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Barbara Stone, Britt's sister, said his lungs were damaged after an explosion years ago at Ozark Oak charcoal plant in Yellville.
Britt's left ventricle pumps at 16 percent capacity, which causes his heart to flood, she said. His lung capacity hovers around 35 percent; he is on oxygen.
Three years ago, Britt had a one wire defibrillator installed at St. Louis. The device was replaced in April with a three wire defibrillator in order to increase his heart function. Following surgery, doctors in Springfield, Mo. told Britt that it wasn't doing enough and he needed to look for other options.
"My doctor in Springfield said without help I only have two years," Britt said. "But he said he wasn't giving up on me yet. It was a week later that I was going to the Mayo Clinic."
Britt stayed in Rochester for 18 days, undergoing a series of tests. "They left no stone unturned," he said.
Britt added the visit left him hopeful.
"They were pretty positive and said I have a reasonable chance due to my blood type," Britt said. "Now we just have to wait for a donor to come up."
The cost of a transplant could be upwards of $500,000 and Britt has been unable to work since the explosion in 1991, he said.
To help with expenses for Britt's medical condition, Stone has set up an account at First Security Bank in Mountain Home.
Stone also wrote a letter to television personality Dr. Phil McGraw to ask for assistance. In the letter she wrote, "I realize that you're not a heart/lung surgeon but you help so many people, and I just wanted to help him somehow, and I thought getting his story to the public might help him get a heart and lungs."
Attempts by The Bulletin to contact McGraw on the subject were unanswered as of press time.
Britt said he is grateful for his sister's efforts and added, "I need prayers most of all."
maggier@baxterbulletin.com
Ailing teen dodges death to get diploma
TEMECULA: The community aids the family of a very ill middle-school graduate.
By TIM O'LEARY / The Press-Enterprise
June 18, 2005 - TEMECULA - One of the 410 eighth-graders who graduated Friday from Temecula Middle School pulled off the unimaginable.
Lorraine Ruiz walked from her folding chair to the center of the ceremony, where she shook hands with school officials.
It was doubtful seven months ago whether she would return to school after a long hospital stay, let alone graduate with her classmates.
Lorraine Ruiz smells the roses her parents gave her as a gift for her eighth-grade graduation at Temecula Middle School. "They've been through a lot for me," she says, of her parents. "I've scared them."
Lorraine, 14, almost died last year from primary-pulmonary hypertension, a rare blood-vessel disorder of the lungs.
The cause of the disease is unknown, and it strikes an estimated two people per million population, according to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
Association materials say the disease has been historically chronic and incurable with a poor survival rate. However, new treatments have improved patients' chances of survival.
Lorraine is getting by with a medicine that is pumped into her chest around-the-clock. She carries the pump and medicine, which must be packed in ice, in a purse-size backpack. The medicine has allowed her to walk slowly from class to class over the past few months.
She faces a heart and lung transplant if she develops a tolerance to the medicine.
Yet Lorraine wasn't thinking much about herself during this milestone in her life. She wanted to hug and thank her parents and other relatives.
"They've been through a lot for me," she said after the ceremony. "I've scared them."
Her parents thanked a list of people who helped the family through prayers, financial and emotional support.
"This is a great community," father Clem Ruiz said. "They took us under their wing."
Their greatest praise went to Suzanne Ellis, a school health clerk who suggested a way for Lorraine to show her doctors that she is suffering from a disease more serious than asthma.
Lorraine asked her doctors to walk with her while she was connected to breath-monitoring equipment. Readings indicated that something was amiss with an earlier diagnosis, said her mother, Teresa Ruiz.
Ellis also helped organize fundraisers and set up a bank account to raise money for Lorraine and her family.
"I'm happy for her and proud, yet sad to see her go," Ellis said after the graduation.
More than $1,200 was raised in a benefit held last year by Stadium Pizza restaurants and through donations from Milgard Windows, other companies and individuals.
John and Lynne Trampush, owners of the Temecula Stampede nightclub, gave $500 to the Ruiz family for a Christmas tree and presents.
Clem Ruiz has suffered from cancer and heart problems, and the family depends on his Social Security disability to live. Relatives have helped them buy groceries and pay other expenses.
To help offset some of her medical costs, Lorraine strings together glass beads, stones and other materials to make bracelets that she sells for at least $20 each. The bracelets are sold in the recreation center of their Paloma Del Sol neighborhood and by word-of-mouth.
Teresa Ruiz said she is proud of Lorraine for wanting to help and for her courage and faith.
"I'm praying and hoping that in her lifetime they will find a cure for her," she said.
Reach Tim O'Leary at (951) 375-3733 or toleary@pe.com
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