BLOOMINGTON - A 23-year-old Bloomington man, who is dying of cystic fibrosis, is in Pennsylvania awaiting an organ transplant that could extend his life. | Archive: Local man urges others to seek treatment, stick with it

Jeremy Powell, a patient at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, is being treated in anticipation of a double-lung transplant. Pantagraph readers were introduced to Powell in February when he decided to tell his story - after he was advised to check into hospice - as a warning to young people with chronic diseases that they should do their treatments and see their doctor.

Powell thought he wasn't eligible for a lung transplant because he has the bacteria Burkholderia Cepacia, which is eating away at his lungs. But he has since found out that medical center has performed double-lung transplants on cystic fibrosis patients with the bacteria.

"I thought I was down and out and these guys came calling to give me a chance," Powell said from UPMC on May 19.

Powell is on oxygen 24/7, is on IV antibiotic medicines to treat his lung infection, takes medicine to give him the enzyme his pancreas isn't producing, takes medicine to reduce pain and anxiety, and does three nebulizer treatments daily to thin mucus, help him breathe and fight the bacteria.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. Powell knows neither how long he

can live without a transplant nor how long he must wait for a transplant. Doctors are trying to weaken the bacteria before a transplant.

Meanwhile, relatives and friends are organizing a fundraiser to help with transplant-related expenses. Fundraising is being done in cooperation with the National Foundation for Transplants, a nonprofit organization that provides fundraising expertise for transplant patients' families, said fundraising consultant Carrie Berry.

A rummage sale to benefit Powell will be from noon to 5 p.m. June 27 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 28 at The Eagles, 313 S. Main St., Bloomington, said Beth Dowell, Powell's cousin and fundraising committee chairwoman. More information is at rbcdowell@comcast.net.

Donations may be made at www.transplant.org by clicking on "patients we help" and searching for Powell. Checks also may be made to NFT Illinois Lung Fund - with "in honor of Jeremy Powell" on the memo line - and mailed to National Foundation for Transplants, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, Tenn. 38119.

Powell - who married his fiancee, Antoinette Raney, on Feb. 28 - said after the article appeared, he received letters from people asking him to not give up.

"I didn't give up," he said.