Family, friends rally for woman with CF
Raising $$ to help pay for lung transplant
Friends and family of a 32-yearold Somerville woman in a medically induced coma awaiting a lung transplant are raising money for her surgery, which they say will cost thousands of dollars even with insurance coverage.
Amy Scafidi was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 11 and has been dealing with the debilitating lung disease ever since.
She has made countless hospital visits for bleeds and infections. But her condition became dire on Memorial Day, when doctors said she would need to be put on the transplant list.
“This last time was the first time for me when the flood gates opened and we realized how serious it was,” Jim Scafidi, her father and a minister, tearfully told the Herald. “I sit here with her in the hospital and talk to her, even though I don’t know what she can hear, and hold her hand and tell her I love her.”
He added, “It’s out of my hands at this point and into the hands of something greater than I am.”
Amy, who works as a counselor for people dealing with serious mental disorders, is covered by Medicaid — but there are often out-ofpocket costs for transplants that many people don’t know about, said Amy’s friend Janine Skipper.
“Apart from being out of work, she will have a multitude of medications — she will have at least four to five medications for preventing rejection alone,” Skipper said. “She’ll be on multiple inhalers and will need 24-hour home care for a while.”
Skipper, who has known Amy since high school, is leading a group of volunteers who hope to raise $65,000 for the Children’s Organ Transplant Association on Amy’s behalf.
The association will then help cover some of Amy’s medical bills once the surgery is complete.
A double lung transplant can cost about $800,000. According to the National Institutes of Health, some public insurers have opted not to cover some of these costs, stating that the resources could be better used on a larger number of people who are not battling life-threatening disease.
“Every insurance is different and Medicaid still doesn’t cover everything,” Skipper said. “They require premiums and co-pays, and there are some limits.” Skipper said Amy has never let her illness get in her way, managing to help people through her work despite her own struggles. “She’s done a lot to help the community,” Skipper said. “She’s so smart. It’s unbelievable what she can accomplish given how sick she is all the time.” For now, family and friends are rallying for Amy and praying for a new set of lungs so the healing process can begin. Her father, Jim, said they are hopeful they’ll get the news soon. “I’m believing that next year about this time we’ll be sharing stories,” Jim said, “and looking back at a very dark time.”