Timothy Simmons (Photo: GoFundMe)OCEAN SPRINGS — A 27-year-old Ocean Springs man is on life support at a New Orleans hospital as his family works to get him to Houston for evaluation for a potential lifesaving lung transplant.
Timothy, who has end-stage sarcoidosis that has severely damaged his lungs, is being kept alive with ECMO and other advanced life support, according to his family.
His medical team has referred him to Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, where he has been accepted for evaluation for a possible lung transplant.
Because of his condition, Timothy cannot travel by car or commercial airplane. His family says he requires specialized medical air transportation capable of continuing his life-support treatment during the flight from New Orleans to Houston.
The family says the transportation has been approved by insurance, but the insurer is still working through the remaining coverage arrangements. They say they are concerned the delay could cost Timothy valuable time.
The family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the specialized medical flight and immediate expenses associated with getting Timothy to the transplant center.
“Timothy is only 27. He has so much more life to live,” his family wrote in the fundraiser. “We are doing everything we possibly can to get him to the place where he may have a chance at receiving new lungs and a second chance at life.”
The family is asking for donations, shares of the fundraiser and prayers as they work to get Timothy to Houston.
