The hospital has a 98-percent success rate, Mrs. Ailey said, which also means the waiting list is especially long. She is raising money to help pay for the transplant and his family's living costs while they wait for a donor. These fund-raising plans include a dinner Nov. 8, 1998. Steven works for Kaiser Aluminum in Denison and Ron works in Dallas. Ailey, who will turn 41 on Nov. 28, lives with his wife Debbie and their children, Melissa and Joshua.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that fills the lungs with mucus.
Ailey has been getting progressively worse. His lung capacity is down to about 13 percent to 17 percent, said his mother, but he is a fighter. He's hanging in there, he's real positive. Ailey's insurance will pay for part of the cost for the transplant and medications but hardly anything for living expenses. He will have to move to St. Louis for about eight months to prepare for the surgery and recover from the surgery.