Brush Valley fundraiser for double-lung recipient focuses on organ donation awareness

TribLive| Debbie Black

Tim and Karen Dotts display a photograph of their late son, Timmy, in a memorial garden honoring him at their home in Indiana.Bruce Siskawicz | The Dispatch

Jim Anderson spent his working days operating heavy equipment in the construction industry and serving as a volunteer firefighter in the Brush Valley Fire Department.

“It got to the point where it was 50 or 60 days working without a day off,” said Anderson, 61, of Brush Valley. “We worked long hours depending on the weather.”

Then his health deteriorated, and he could no longer work. He was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2008. IPF is a disabling and sometimes fatal disease of unknown cause that scars lung tissue and makes it more difficult for a person to breathe.

“I needed oxygen 24/7,” Anderson said. “There is no cure for IPF.”

Now, five years into an early retirement due to IPF, Anderson is happy to be alive while recovering from the only treatment available for the disease. He had a double-lung transplant in January. 
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______________________________________________________ 
"You have the power to SAVE lives." 
To register as a donor in California: 
www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org | www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org 
Outside California: 
www.organdonor.gov | www.donatelife.net

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