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Fund set up for local teen in need of transplant
Expected transplant Saturday canceled because donor lungs were not good; fundraisers scheduled
Kadi Hodges
Kadi Hodges is seen in this undated photo. The local 17-year-old needs a double lung transplant. - photo by Special
    It was a false alarm Saturday for Statesboro's 17-year-old Kadi Hodges. Suffering from cystic fibrosis and in need of a double lung transplant, she expected to undergo surgery only to learn the lungs were not good.
    Neither are her own. The teen's lungs are clogged with mucous, and she cannot even hold a conversation without struggling for breath, said her mom, Connie Hodges.
    Kadi is at Duke University in North Carolina, waiting for another set of lungs to become available that will work for her — meaning, they must be the right size and blood type, Connie Hodges said.
    It's a tough wait, and Kadi is anxious, she said.
    "We're hanging in there," she said. "We had a call last Saturday but it was a dry run."
    But in the meantime, while Kadi is waiting, the bills are not. Doctors told her family the expense of caring for Kadi afterward will be even more costly, and while fundraisers have helped, the need is still growing.
    The Hodges family hopes future fundraising events will help. Citizens can visit Chic-Fil-A  on Monday, Oct. 26, from 5-8 p.m. for Kadi Hodges Spirit Night. According to organizer Cindy Nevil,  Chic-Fil-A will donate a percentage of its sales for those that show up with a Spirit Card.
     Spirit Cards are available at Southeast Bulloch High School to students & faculty, or can be obtained from Nevil (reached at 912-531-4137) or Marge Franklin (at 912-536-9503), she said.
    Nevil and Franklin will also be selling tickets for Boston butts at $20 each. Ticket holders can pick up their Boston butts  in the Viracon parking lot between 3-6 p.m.  on Friday, Nov. 20, she said.
    Further donations can also be made at the Heritage Bank or Sea Island Bank to the Kadi Hodges Fund, Nevil said. Donations may also be made online http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kadihodges.
    This site will also provide updates on Kadi's condition and allow visitors to leave comments.
    Connie Hodges said her daughter is becoming anxious to get on with her life, and misses her 6-year-old brother DJ. She calls him "her boogerbear," she said.
    "She can't wait  to see how it is to take a deep breath, to run, and to have a conversation without having to stop and take a breath," she said.
     Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.


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