Cotton candy fundraiser to help Howell woman

An unusual fundraiser is planned next weekend in Plymouth on behalf of a Howell woman preparing for a double lung transplant.

Michele Scott’s friends and family will staff a cotton candy booth July 10-12 at the Art In the Park Fair in downtown Plymouth to help with her surgery and recovery.

Scott, 57, has been diagnosed with a number of issues, including connective tissue disease and scarring to her lungs.

“It began in 2010 shortly after she was treated for carpal tunnel syndrome,” said her son, Ryan Scott.

“For a while doctors didn’t know what the issue was. At first, they thought it might be cancer.”

Michele Scott now must breathe with assistance from an oxygen tank, her son said.

Her health issues forced her to leave her job as comptroller of a Westland-based company.

“She had just received her master’s in business administration when all this began,” Ryan Scott said.

A one-time smoker, Michele Scott had kicked the habit for more than a decade before her health issues began.

Though health insurance coverage will cover a portion of the estimated $800,000 surgical cost, family members say she will still need major help covering follow-up care, including daily injections of anti-rejection medication.

Family fund raising efforts are being assisted by the National Foundation for Transplants (NFT).

“She did some research and found out they support people in her situation,” her son said.

NFT is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Memphis, Tenn.

“I’m hopeful she’ll receive her transplant soon,” NFT fund raising consultant Samantha Palazolo said. “Everyone at NFT is dedicated to helping her raise the funds she needs to focus on her health and her family instead of worrying about the medical expenses.”

Scott is hoping to raise $35,000 to cover her care.

Tax-deductible donations in Scott’s behalf can be made to the NFT Michigan Transplant Fund, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 430, Memphis, Tenn. 38119. Donors are asked to write “in honor of Michele Scott” on the memo line.

Donations also can be made online at http://www.transplants.org/. Donors can find Scott’s page by clicking on “Find an NFT Patient.”

Art In the Park is billed as Michigan’s second largest art fair. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, July 10; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 11; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 12.

NFT has helped transplant patients since 1983 by organizing campaigns in or near patients’ home communities.

The NFT currently assists more than 2,500 transplant candidates.

Its campaigns have raised nearly $72 million to assist patients to date, according to a statement fro the organization.

Contact Livingston Daily reporter Wayne Peal at 517-548-7081 or wpeal@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @wpeal.