Breathe Easier with B Fay

About Us

Our Beliefs

We are here to help bridge the gap between what health insurance provides individuals in the advanced stages of lung related illnesses and what they actually need to ease the financial stress of fighting to breathe. We strive to provide Massachusetts residents with financial support for the unexpected burden of everyday necessities. The simple aspects of life such as transportation, parking, meals, childcare, gas, and other daily essentials that are suddenly not easily accessible or affordable. We want to provide peace of mind to those waiting for, or living through, the life saving measure that suddenly uproots life as they knew it. We believe nobody should have to fight to breathe and this is how we can help.

Send a Donation

We appreciate your interest in supporting our cause. At this time, we are accepting donations by venmo, cash or check.

venmo: @breatheeasierwithbfayinc

Please make checks payable to: Breathe Easier with BFay

mailing address: 64 Bay State Circle Abington MA 02351

Become a Volunteer

We would love your help at our next event! Reach out today to discuss how you can help our next fundraising event run efficiently.

Donate your Services

We are always accepting raffle prizes for our upcoming events. If you have a service you’d like to provide, or are a business looking to donate time, products, or services; we’d love to hear from you!

“Fay died in his Abington home after years of fighting respiratory issues brought on by time spent working at ground zero following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.”

“Brian’s interstitial lung disease had been linked to his role in 2001 as a 9/11 responder. An employee of Clean Harbors in Norwell, he spent seven months working on the massive cleanup of the Ground Zero site in New York City. He was exposed to several toxins and gases; the effects began to show up in 2017.”

“Brian Fay has to fight to get every little thing covered, he said, from anxiety medication related to his inability to breathe to the double-lung transplant itself and the need for another.”

“Fay’s family said he was locked in his upstairs office and on the phone for hours almost daily fighting to get his medications, appointments, tests and procedures approved. When his second double-lung transplant was denied, it was because doctors felt he had declined beyond a reasonable anticipation of recovery, Michele said. Because he got weaker over time, she said it’s hard not to wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t spent so much time being denied coverage.”

“After Brian died, she wanted to start a foundation to support others in his memory”

“Brian Fay was one of tens of thousands of people who survived the 9/11 attacks or responded afterwards and later developed illnesses related to their time at ground zero. Of the top 10 conditions most commonly linked to ground zero, three are lung related: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic respiratory disorder and asthma, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.”

“It all looked good, he was doing really well with all the appointments, but the main problem was that it took so long to get each appointment approved (by insurance),” Michele Fay said. “He was so positive and never complained, but he spent the last few months of his life just fighting for care. It was a constant struggle.”

“Michele Fay … runs a foundation to help pulmonary patients pay for expenses insurance doesn’t cover. Her husband Brian Fay died in 2022 of lung disease linked to toxic exposure at Ground Zero.” 

“Michele explained to the respiratory therapist that she had founded a nonprofit organization, the Breathe Easier with BFay Foundation, to make life easier for other lung disease patients and their families facing a variety of costs not covered by insurance. “She got tears in her eyes because there is such a need,” Michele says.”