There just aren't enough thank-you cards in the world.

Ashlee Terwilliger and husband, Jim, of Smithfield Township appreciate the prayers, cards, donations and helping hands from the Monroe County community, including total strangers, as well as from family and close friends. If it wasn't for the overwhelming support, which included a GoFundMe page, it would have been that much harder to deal with Ashlee's cystic fibrosis.

Most importantly, in addition to thanking doctors, the Terwilligers want to thank the family of the donor of the new lungs that now make it possible for Ashlee to breathe without coughing, climb stairs, jog and romp outdoors with 3-year-old daughter Raelee. Because of a stranger's selfless gift, Ashlee's days of chest percussions, long hospital stays and lugging around an oxygen tank are behind her.

"We understand and respect that organ donors' identities are kept confidential unless their families choose to come forward," said Ashlee, sitting with her husband, Jim, at their dining room table while daughter, Raelee, played nearby. "I hope my donor's family chooses to reach out to us so we can meet them some day."

Along with expressing appreciation for the help in their own situation, the Terwilligers want to convey the importance of organ donation.

Jim has seen a 180-degree turn in Ashlee's life.

"There's no greater gift than making it possible for someone to enjoy a longer, better-quality life with the people who love them," he said. "Before Ashlee's lung transplant, life was doom and gloom for a long time. It wasn't really living. Now, she has a second chance. We are just so blessed and unbelievably grateful."

Raising awareness

Whether through social media, talking to people in person or supporting efforts such as the Gift of Life Donor Program, Ashlee does whatever she can to raise awareness about organ donation and the need for more donors.

She also networks with others who have cystic fibrosis, the genetic condition affecting the lungs' ability to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Years before her lung transplant, she connected with people who know what living with cystic fibrosis is like and were able to guide her through what to expect.

"Now that I've been fortunate enough to undergo a successful transplant, I'm taking the guidance and support I received and paying it forward to others who are struggling with this disease to let them know there's hope," she said.

As a toddler, the Bradford County native had a constant upset stomach and trouble gaining weight. When she was 4, doctors in Pittsburgh gave her a sweat test.

"A sign of cystic fibrosis is that the salt from your sweat doesn't get absorbed back into your body, so your skin is very salty as a result," she said. "That's how I was first diagnosed. Today, babies can be diagnosed while still in the womb."

Cystic fibrosis causes thick mucus buildup in the lungs, making it harder to breathe, and the pancreas, making it harder to produce enzymes that digest food.

As a result, Ashlee had to take enzymes before every meal.

She also had to undergo manual chest percussions to break up the mucus in her lungs. When she was older, she wore a special vest administering these percussions.

Ashlee adjusted to living with the disease, staying active through volleyball, basketball and softball.

The problem is that cystic fibrosis decreases the lungs' ability to function as the body ages. At age 17, with her lung function declining, Ashlee was admitted to the hospital and for the first time given intravenous antibiotics.

Cystic fibrosis hampers the body's natural ability to absorb fat when digesting foods. As a result, Ashlee had to maintain a high-fat, high-calorie diet, snacking between three meals a day while exercising and staying active.

"It's interesting if she tries to cook for both of us because here I am, trying to maintain a diet that's the exact opposite of hers," Jim said, sharing a laugh with Ashlee. "When we eat out, I'm ordering chicken with vegetables, while she's having a cheesesteak sandwich with extra mushrooms."

The couple met when both attended East Stroudsburg University where Jim, a Monroe County native and former East Stroudsburg South High School football star, was continuing his gridiron career. After graduation, Jim went on to coach at Pleasant Valley High School and eventually at ESU, while Ashlee taught first and second grades.

Declines in health

Ashlee's lung function continued to decline. By her late 20s, when she and Jim were married, she was in the hospital two to three times a year, eventually needing a nebulizer multiple times per day, an oxygen tank and a special oxygen mask to help her breathe when sleeping at night.

"We'd be sitting on the couch, watching TV, and I'd listen to her take four or five shallow breaths in the time it would take me to draw one breath," Jim said.

Ashlee never liked letting others, beyond immediate family and close friends, know about her condition.

"I didn't want it defining who I am," she said. "People would see me with the oxygen tank and immediately show sympathy. I understand and appreciate their compassion and concern, but it felt like they were seeing my illness and not seeing the real me or my ability to cope with it. People thought I was worse off than I actually was.

"I wanted people to see me first, not my illness," she said. "I'm more than just my illness."

When Ashlee got pregnant, she had to stop taking a lot of her prescribed daily medications to avoid risking Raelee's health. Without medication, her body was left to its own defenses, which landed her in the hospital three times during the pregnancy.

Doctors decided to deliver Raelee a week early and she came out at a healthy five pounds.

However, with lung function continuing to decrease and eventually dropping down to under 20 percent, Ashlee's worst fear was not being there for her daughter. At one point, she was down to 98 pounds, 22 less than the ideal weight her doctor wanted her to maintain.

The wait

So, Ashlee's pulmonologist at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville referred her to the Penn Medicine Lung Transplant Program in Philadelphia, which in September put her on a waiting list to receive new lungs.

She was willing to accept both "A list" lungs, which had never been exposed to any cigarette smoke or drugs, and "B list" lungs, which may have been exposed but were still salvageable. The lungs had to match her blood type and size, among other things.

A crushing setback came two or three days before Christmas, when Ashlee was told a set of lungs had been selected that seemed right for her.

"They prepped me for surgery and actually had me on the operating table, ready to go," she said. "Then, at the last minute, they told us they couldn't go ahead because there was a problem with the lungs."

Jim took the news harder than Ashlee.

"I asked her if she was OK," he said. "She just looked at me and said she was fine. She figured this just gave whoever the donor was more time to spend with their family."

Prayers were finally answered in February, when a compatible set of lungs became available.

On Feb. 7, Ashlee's and Jim's parents, siblings and friends joined them at the hospital. At 11 that night, Ashlee went into surgery, which was completed at 7 the next morning.

It turned out the procedure had been successful.

"My first coherent thought was that the hard part was now over," Ashlee said. "My second thought was wondering where the pain meds were. There was pain in my chest."

The cost

Family and friends anticipated the couple would need help with recouping expenses related to staying at the hotel near the hospital while awaiting surgery.

"Prior to Ashlee's surgery, a good friend of mine had talked to me about setting up a GoFundMe page," Jim said. "I told him not to do that because I didn't feel right with the idea of us taking money from anyone. I was kind of adamant about it. I felt the kind of support we'd received so far was good enough."

However, the friend and others went ahead and set up the GoFundMe page anyway.

"Well, as you can imagine, it tested our friendship when I found out about it," Jim said.

But, in hindsight, the couple now realizes how deep in debt they would've been without the GoFundMe donations.

"I still feel overwhelmed when I think of the extent to which so many people stepped forward to help us, including people we don't even know, not just with monetary donations but in all kinds of ways," Ashlee said. "It makes me realize how blessed we are."

With her new lungs, Ashlee must watch out for germs. She takes immuno-suppressants to help her body adapt to the new lungs, which means her immune system is down.

She also must continue taking multiple medications, along with blood thinners to prevent clots. Still, things are much better.

"Hey, I'll take this life any day over the one I was living before," she said.