The community of Vaughn Chapel Baptist Church in Milledgeville, GA, helped their beloved pastor Tony Fraley raise funds through a GoFundMe campaign for heart transplant and medications, which has gone viral.
According to Macon, Fraley has been receiving the outpouring of support from his community after serving as pastor for Vaughn Chapel Baptist Church for 40 years now.
Fraley released a video on YouTube that is placed in his GoFundMe page, which is named, "Tony E. Fraley--Heart Transplant".
"This malfunction that has been placed on me, I really feel in my heart that it is for the glory and edification of God, and you have made it so easy by your act of kindness, your act of love, your act of concern for my well being," Fraley expressed his gratitude in the video.
As of writing time, the GoFundMe page indicates that people have already donated $10,680 - more than the $10,000 goal. This actually came from more than 80 donors after being shared 411 times by 87 followers.
Union Recorder reported that Fraley's wife, Daphne, and church Associate Minister Lisa Shinholster have spearheaded the creation of the GoFundMe page as part of the requirements of the Georgia Transplant Foundation fund matching program.
Fraley will be getting his transplant funding support through the said Foundation which provides a fund matching program wherein it matches 100% up to $10,000 whatever funding the patient has accumulated through the GoFundMe page.
"One of the criteria for a heart transplant with the Georgia Transplant Foundation is that you do a fundraiser," Shinholster said.
Shinholster explained to Union Recorder that the matching program was "part of the criteria is to make sure that the cost associated with that medicine is not something the patient's worried about going into the surgery".
Union Recorder said that Shinholster and Daphne worked on the Georgia Transplant Foundation fund matching application process last Nov. 18 while Fraley was still confined in the hospital. The GoFundMe page was launched Dec. 9 by Shinholster while Fraley's relatives, friends, and church members helped spread word about its fund raising.
Shinholster said that Fraley's "peers are being very supportive" and of his friends Mike Couch "really reached out to other areas of the community to get the word out" while Willie Davies went out his way to reach to other local churches for other faith communities' support.
Shinholster narrated to Union Recorder that Fraley has been suffering from congestive heart failure for more than 20 years before he started having "three or four episodes in one month" in the middle of summer of 2020.
She said the episodes were "more than he had in a year in prior years" that come November his fatigue levels increased and he started retaining water in his heart, which is said to be indicative of a person's heart valves not functioning properly anymore. It ws then that they had him visit his doctors at Emory University who decided he be confined for a series of tests.
"They did everything from a genetic study, to a kidney analysis, to his heart, his lungs," Shinholster said, "They checked everything out to make sure that they knew what plan of action he needed to take."
The tests revealed that he had the option to be connected to a left ventricular assistance device equipment for the rest of his life, which Shinholster said Fraley opted out from because "he didn't want to live like that," or that he could have a heart transplant surgery.
Fralery chose the latter, and as soon as Fraley decided on which option to take and once Daphne gave her blessing, Shinholster immediately set out for funding help with Georgia Transplant Foundation.
Union Recorder revealed that besides the GoFundMe page, Fraley has a bank account from which Shinholster and Daphne were able to complete the $10,000 check given to the Georgia Foundation, which in turn helped secure their enlistment for transplant at Emory. The check was given during their program orientation session.
While Macon added that Fraley also has a health insurance that would be able to fund some of the costs associated with his operation, he will need more funds to cover his medications post-operation. Accordingly, the "co-pay for the immunosuppressive medications will cost around $20,000-$30,000 per year."
"We are thankful for friends like you who will help to make it seem less overwhelming. We thank you in advance for your support," Shinholster wrote in the GoFundMe page.
But the battle isn't done, as per Union Recorder, since Fraley needs medication after the transplant and donations are welcome to help him out of the financial stress from it.
