Twenty years after surviving leukemia, Erin Pushie is now undergoing evaluation through the Toronto Lung Transplant Program in hopes of being placed on the list for a double lung transplant.
Pushie said the bone marrow transplant that saved her life also caused severe damage to her lungs through graft-versus-host disease, a complication that has progressively worsened over the last two decades.
“My lungs took the worst of it,” Pushie said. “Over the years, it’s kind of gotten more and more damage built up, and my lungs don’t function the way that they should.”
Pushie said daily activities many people take for granted have become exhausting.
“Things like climbing stairs, carrying groceries, getting through a normal day now leave me struggling for breath and completely drained,” she said.
Doctors have told Pushie she will need to relocate to Toronto for the surgery and recovery process, which could last up to a year or longer.
The move means leaving behind her home, work and children in Halifax while also managing the financial strain of supporting two households.
“Hearing that I was going to have to move to Toronto and I might be there a year or maybe more, it felt insurmountable,” she said. “I have a whole world here.”
While some transplant assistance programs exist, Pushie and her friend Kelly Blenus say the support available does not fully cover the costs associated with long-term relocation, housing and lost income.
That led Blenus to launch a GoFundMe campaign to help cover expenses while the two stay in Toronto during the transplant process.
In just 24 hours, more than $5,000 was raised.
“I was worried to post the big goals because asking for a lot of money is really hard,” Blenus said. “But in the first day, we raised $5,000 and it was so humbling.”
Blenus, who plans to travel to Toronto as Pushie’s support person, said she immediately knew her friend should not face the process alone.
“She wasn’t going alone. That was never an option for me,” she said.
Blenus said the financial pressures are significant, with both women needing to continue supporting their homes and families in Halifax while living in Toronto during recovery.
“She works full-time. She’s not going to be able to work for up to a year,” Blenus said. “It adds up really fast.”
Pushie said she has been overwhelmed by the response from the community.
“I feel honoured and really humbled,” she said. “It’s a great reminder that we do have communities and that people do care.”
Blenus described Pushie as someone who has consistently supported others despite quietly dealing with her own health struggles.
“She is the kindest human I know,” Blenus said. “She would give anything for the people around her.”
To raise additional funds for Pushie, Blenus, has started selling ‘Just Breathe’ stickers online.
Pushie hopes to be accepted into the transplant program sometime after July.
Despite the uncertainty ahead, she remains hopeful.
“At the very bottom of everything, I have a feeling that this will be successful and that we’re going to come through and everything’s going to be all right,” she said.
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