A Frenchtown man who received a double lung transplant last year is paying it forward to help out a young woman with the same disease.

At 24-years-old Mary Fouse had hoped to be independent.

“People have to go get your groceries for you, you can't really drive yourself anywhere,” Fouse said.

It's not just heavy oxygen tank Fouse has to carry around that holds her back, it's her lungs.
“Just daily tasks that you normally would be able to do, but you’re so out of breath that it doesn't happen,” she said.

Fouse's battled Cystic Fibrosis since birth; it's a genetic disease that makes it hard for her to breathe. “Recently I'm on more oxygen than I ever have been before.”

But now after 24 years there's hope for Fouse. She's on a list in Seattle for a double lung transplant that could give her the life she's always wanted. And while she waits for the call, she's seeking inspiration from a man who used to be in her shoes.

Blaine Lovell, from Frenchtown, also has cystic fibrosis. He too needed a double lung transplant too, and he got one a little over a year ago.

“I couldn't begin to tell you how great it is to have your old life back and do all the things you want to do,” said Lovell.

But he says he couldn't have done it without support from the community. That's why Blaine says it's his turn to give back and make a difference in someone else's life.

“Just to be on this side of it and be able to look back and see somebody else at where I was at and know that I’m able to help them get to where I’m at now it's a real blessing,” he said.

A golf tournament held to help raise money for him last year will now benefit Fouse's medical bills.

“What I decided to do this year is pay it forward and find somebody else here in the community that we could help out,” said Lovell.

The 2nd annual Just Breathe Invitational, golf tournament is being held for Fouse Sunday, July 8th at the King Ranch Golf Course in Frenchtown.

For more information about the tournament click here. Or call Blaine Lovell at (406) 239-0803