Charles Bradley Otwell, an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Air Force, has been diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.  IPF is a progressive, terminal disease that causes the lungs to become stiff and fibrous, making it progressively difficult for the patient to breathe.  The cause of the disease is unknown, hence “idiopathic”, and the only successful treatment is a bilateral lung transplant.  Left untreated, IPF has a typical life expectancy of 18 months – 5 years.  With a successful lung transplant, life expectancy can increase 5 years – 20 years.

He was diagnosed in August 2017 after experiencing a progressive cough and fatigue.  He was working as a furniture salesman, and his symptoms finally forced him to stop working.  He made an appointment at the VA clinic in Denton, TX, where an abnormal chest Xray initiated an order for a CT scan of his chest, which revealed the pulmonary fibrosis.  After several months, he had an initial appointment with the pulmonology department at the VA in Dallas, TX, where further testing revealed that he needed full-time supplemental oxygen to be able to function.   He has had much testing and rehab, and it has been determined that in all other respects he is healthy and they are working to get him approved for the VA Transplant list.

The current protocol for transplants at the VA is that they are only done in specific VA medical centers.  For lung transplants, those two designated centers are Madison, Wisconsin and Seattle, Washington.   To be approved for the transplant, the recipient must move to one of those locations as assigned by the VA for as long as needed to get through the transplant and the full recovery process, which could take as long as 3 years.  The transplant candidate must have a designated “caregiver” that must move along with the patient and be available at all times to do whatever is needed throughout the entire process.  Without that committed caregiver, the patient will be denied a transplant.

Brad currently lives with his sister, Donna White and her husband Justin in Frisco, TX. His daughter, Cady Otwell, has volunteered to travel with her father to be his caregiver during his transplant and rehabilitation. Cady is newly engaged and she will be torn away, not only from her business, but also her fiancé, two dogs, and her family outside of her father. While this is a sacrifice she is more than willing to make, it is still a situation that would be easier dealt with at home in Dallas. Brad also has a newlywed son, Jesse, who added his wife, Cassie, and their daughter, August, into the Otwell family this past August. Jesse is also trying to find any way of helping his father throughout this process.

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has well-respected transplant program less than 30 miles away from Brad’s current residence.  Allowing him to have the transplant in Dallas, where he has close family and friends to support him through this serious illness and recovery, could only benefit him in his recovery, as well as allow his family to maintain some sense of normalcy while still continuing to provide the needed support.

It is understood that according to the VA, “it is more cost effective to handle transplants at the designated centers”, but the cost is more than dollars to the families involved.  To give up family life, be away from spouses and children, to give up established careers for an unknown period of time to allow for a loved one to get the life-saving treatment they need in a far-away city seems cruel and unjust.  It also seems illogical that accommodating the travel, moving, living, surgical and recovery expenses of the patient and their caregiver so far from their home could be much less expensive. There have been exceptions made for other patients needing lung transplants.  We ask that given Brad’s existing home and support system so close to a major transplant center that he be granted an exception to get the care he needs nearest those who love and care for him.

Please help us keep our father, brother, and friend near his home, and covered by his VA benefits. This would make such a huge impact on his success. Our family is so very small and we just cannot imagine being broken apart during such a challenging part of our lives. We will fight for every opportunity to get Brad the treatment he needs here in Dallas. Please help us to make this happen.