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MA Alpha anxiously waits for a lung transplant
WESTBOROUGH, MA — Westborough resident Maryanne Jackson has fought a long battle, but now she needs help.
In fact, Jackson, 61, a divorced mother of two adult sons, needs a double lung transplant.
In 1989 Jackson was diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, or AATD, a disorder in which a protein that helps protect the lungs cannot get out of the liver cells and into the bloodstream.
Typical early symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, respiratory infections, fatigue, rapid heartbeat and vision problems.
She has advanced emphysema and is hooked to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. When resting, she requires 3 liters of oxygen, but needs 4 to 5 liters when doing anything active.
