How You Can Help Save a Homewood Girl’s Life

This article was updated at 5 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2013

Josie Nordman of Homewood was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a chronic and frequently fatal lung disease, when she was only four months old.

Now, at 19, the Northwestern University sophomore is left with only 22 percent of her lung function. Last December, she was added to the lung transplant list.

A transplant is her only hope of surviving.

Unfortunately, that hope comes with a hefty $50,000 to $75,000 price tag. While insurance is covering a large amount of it, the remainder is still more than the Nordman family can afford.

“We are struggling to pay our monthly bills due to so many medical costs that we have no idea how to come up with this kind of money,” Josie’s mother Nicolle Nordman said on Facebook. “We need a miracle …”

Nicolle Nordman turned to Facebook for help. A former teacher of Josie’s took it a step further and set up a website where anybody can donate money towards the cause. They’ve already collected $1,300 from friends and strangers alike, but much more is needed. No donation is too small.

If every family in H-F donated $10 today, the Nordman's could pay for the operation in full.

Anyone interested in donating money towards Josie’s lung transplant can do so on this website.