Saturday event to benefit lung transplant candidate

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UNION CITY, Ind. — A benefit for Irma Stewart will be held Saturday at the Union City American Legion, 409 W. Pearl St., Union City, Indiana.

The benefit will start at 11 a.m. with a bake sale, then there will be a golf cart/motorcycle poker run at 12:30 p.m. A euchre tournament will start at 2 p.m. and there will be food and fun to be had. Entertainment will be provided by Rockin’ with Rocky from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

All donations and proceeds will go to Stewart in her time of need.

A candidate for a lung transplant, Stewart was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and has a very low lung capacity. She was diagnosed in December 2012 during a lengthy hospital stay.

“I have been ill since the middle of 2012 and things just began to get worse which is ultimately led to my being taken to the emergency room in Winchester and then transferred to Reid.” Stewart said. “I was hospitalized at that time for nearly two weeks and then stayed with my daughter Tina LeMaster for several months as I rehabilitated.”

Yes, she is on the transplant list.

“I have gone through a very lengthy process of testing and qualified for the transplant list,” she said. “It took nearly a year of testing and waiting. Finally got to the listing point, it is just a matter of being matched and receiving the call to go in to receive the transplant.”

Due to her illness, Stewart had to retire from working in Union City at Save-A-Lot completely.

“My breathing restrictions have kept me from doing simple day-to-day things too,” she said. “Due to the medications that I had to be on for my breathing it also caused me to have a hip replacement a couple of years ago as well. The high dosages of steroids had a huge effect on my hip.”

Stewart, daughter of the late Clyde Parton and Arabelle Kreischer, unfortunately will not be attending the benefit.

” I have a weak immune system and have to be careful to keep myself from getting sick and risking exposure to any illnesses,” she explained. “If I were to get sick, it would delay my transplant. My son, Chuck Stewart, daughter-in-law Kathy and my daughter Tina LeMaster and son-in-law Shane and some of my grandchildren will be there as well as many of my friends who have graciously put this together.”

She also noted that her daughter started a Go-Fund Me page for her. This was for those who wanted to help but could not attend any benefit. It can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/haqg4-irmas-lung-transplant

Stewart
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_irmastewartPRINT.jpgStewart

By Linda Moody

[email protected]

COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. Progressive means the disease gets worse over time.

COPD can cause coughing that produces large amounts of a slimy substance called mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and other symptoms.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Most people who have COPD smoke or used to smoke. However, up to 25 percent of people with COPD never smoked. Long-term exposure to other lung irritants—such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dusts—also may contribute to COPD. A rare genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency can also cause the disease.

To understand COPD, it helps to understand how the lungs work. The air that you breathe goes down your windpipe into tubes in your lungs called bronchial tubes or airways.

Within the lungs, your bronchial tubes branch many times into thousands of smaller, thinner tubes called bronchioles. These tubes end in bunches of tiny round air sacs called alveoli.

Small blood vessels called capillaries run along the walls of the air sacs. When air reaches the air sacs, oxygen passes through the air sac walls into the blood in the capillaries. At the same time, a waste product, called carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, moves from the capillaries into the air sacs. This process, called gas exchange, brings in oxygen for the body to use for vital functions and removes the CO2.

The airways and air sacs are elastic or stretchy. When you breathe in, each air sac fills up with air, like a small balloon. When you breathe out, the air sacs deflate and the air goes out.

In COPD, less air flows in and out of the airways because of one or more of the following:

The airways and air sacs lose their elastic quality.

The walls between many of the air sacs are destroyed.

The walls of the airways become thick and inflamed.

The airways make more mucus than usual and can become clogged.

This writer may be reached at 937-569-4315. Follow her on Facebook and join the conversation and get updates on Facebook by searching Darke County Sports or Advocate 360. For more features online go to dailyadvocate.com.

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