NY Daily News – January 12, 2015
by Lisa L. Colangelo
A little bit of oomph can go a long way toward helping a Queens woman keep her spirits up while she waits for a double lung transplant. Friends of Katy Starck Monte started a social media campaign, #oomphforkaty, which has drawn support from people all over the country including celebrities such as Kevin Bacon and Matthew Broderick.
At the same time, Monte and her husband Joe, a firefighter, are trying to highlight the desperate need for organ donors throughout the region.
“The wait time in New York is the longest in the United States,” said Katy, 30, now receiving around-the-clock treatment at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. “It’s an important topic that people need to talk about. I know it’s not a happy subject but it’s important to know where your family stands.”
Katy has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes frequent lung infections, difficulty breathing and other serious symptoms.
She received a double lung transplant in 2011, but her body has been rejecting them.
The campaign started in December to promote awareness of cystic fibrosis and organ donation as well as give her moral support.
“It’s amazing to know they are taking time out of their day to wish me luck,” said Katy, whose lungs are working at only 11% of their normal capacity. “It makes me feel like I have supporters and I need to keep fighting.”
Joe Monte, 27, who works at Engine 289 in Corona, said the FDNY supports organ donation and stresses its importance during training.
More than 126 members of the department signed up as donors in November as part of the N.Y. Organ Donor Network.
Those are notable numbers, considering there were just 358 deceased organ donors in New York State in 2012.
Katy has been on a waiting list for lungs since August but has not received any calls for matches.
“There is a tremendous deficit in people who are willing to donate,” said Dr. Lori Shah, a pulmonologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center who is treating Katy. “The organs from a person who has passed can save and enhance so many lives.”
The #oomphforkaty campaign has taken off on social media. The Facebook page includes a video message from “Sharknado” star Ian Ziering and pictures of Bacon and Shawn Ashmore sending support, as well as former Yankee Jonny Damon and others.
Shah said she applauds the couple’s efforts to reach the public through social media. “It makes people aware of the need,” she said. “Because an increasing number of patients are dying while they wait for organs.”
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