Family affected by cystic fibrosis seeks community help
PHOTO PROVIDED
Pictured at a baseball game in 2011, William "Willie" Durasky Jr. passed away in December 2012 at 25 as a result of cystic fibrosis. His sister, Michelle, 24, also suffers from CF and is waiting to get on the lung-transplant list at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Their family is seeking the community's help, through fundraisers, to assist with the bills remaining from Willie's final hospitalzation, and for Michelle's continued care.
By ANNE KLOCKENKEMPER
Staff Writer
NORTH PORT — Denise Durasky knows more about cystic fibrosis than she ever wanted to know: that the average life span of a CF patient is 34 years, and that a double-lung transplant can extend the life of a CF sufferer by 10 or 20 years, but only if the body doesn’t reject the transplanted organs first.
She knows these things because her son, William Jr., didn’t make it to 34, passing away in December 2012 at age 25, as a result of cystic fibrosis. Her daughter, Michelle, 24, also has CF.
