Tufts student Billy Senopoulos, plagued by Cystic Fibrosis since birth, is very ill.
Senopoulos, 27, needs a complicated lung transplant, which requires finding two separate suitable donors willing to give up one lobe of their lung. His rare AB blood type only complicates matters.
He is also a diabetic.
"Most of his life we kind of waited for a cure," said Julie Whitson, Senopoulos' cousin. The family started the B Nice Foundation, which promotes organ donation awareness and searches for help for Senopoulos.
"Billy is getting sicker," Whitson said. "His doctor said if he got a cold he could die."
The B Nice Foundation, started in May, is holding a fundraising dinner at Anthony's of Malden Oct. 14 to support the search for lung donors for Senopoulos.
The money raised by the $25 admission, raffle, and silent auction will be used to compensate anyone who chooses to donate one lobe of their lung to Senopoulos.
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that occurs in one out of every 3,000 people. Common symptoms include a chronic cough, difficulty breathing, frequent sinus infections, digestive problems, or recurrent pneumonia.
The average life expectancy for someone with Cystic Fibrosis is 30 years.
The owners of the restaurant are family friends and were happy to support the foundation.
The foundation's immediate goal is finding donors for Senopoulos, but the family expects it to become a general awareness organization. "Hopefully we will be able to grow enough to support this nationwide," Whitson said.
Margaret Higham, the medical director at Tufts Health Services, said the lung donation procedure is new and has rarely been performed. "There was no comparable treatment for Cystic Fibrosis done before," she said.
Until recently, lung donation presented a much greater danger to the donor, whereas now donors can return to full lung function in a matter of weeks.
The health risks associated with lung donation are still greater than with any other type of transplant, Higham said.
Tufts Health Services is not involved with the B Nice Foundation or the upcoming fundraiser. "We weren't asked to be a part of it," Higham said.
Senopoulos is a clinical psychology major in the REAL program, which was created in 1970 to for women who took time off school to raise families. The program now allows men, and it allows people over 25 to earn a degree if they have had to take time off for illness.
Senopoulos went on medical leave from Tufts at the end of last October when his health became a serious issue. "I could barely walk because my breathing got so bad," he said.
He is currently on a complex regimen of medications and nutritional restrictions. Although ill, he is not confined to his house.
"He can go out, but it takes a lot out of him when he does," Whitson said.
Senopoulos has been too sick to contact friends at Tufts and now is focusing all his energy on finding donors.
"I want to finish my degree, but that is going to have to be post-transplant," he said.
Senopoulos said he is very thankful for the support of people in the Tufts community, specifically Jean Herbert, associate dean of academic services and the director of the REAL Program.
"Dean Herbert was very understanding," Whitson said. "But she can only do so much."
Whitson said that she and her family, "would appreciate any support" and hope Tufts students will support Senopoulos' cause.
