Inspired to Make a Lasting Gift
Tom Stripling, ’02, and his wife, Evelyn Skye, ’01
Active, fit, and young, Tom Stripling was mystified when, at the age of 39, he began experiencing difficulty breathing and other symptoms of a pulmonary illness.
After seeing several physicians at a local health-care system, he was diagnosed in January 2019 with a degenerative and incurable lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Following his diagnosis, Tom decided to seek treatment at the School of Medicine or Stanford Health Care.
Tom’s condition deteriorated rapidly following his diagnosis, with his lungs becoming so scarred and impaired that he required supplemental oxygen.
Soon after, as his illness progressed and his breathing became more labored, he was admitted to Stanford Hospital. After several weeks, he was fortunate to receive a bilateral lung transplant—just eight months after diagnosis.
“When I was in the hospital, I got progressively worse until my lungs stopped working altogether and I had to be put on a machine that breathed for me,” Tom says. “I was able to get the transplant just in the nick of time.”
In addition to being forever thankful for the donor who saved his life, Tom is eternally grateful to the entire team at the School of Medicine or Stanford Health Care who played such a vital role in his care—from the nurses in the emergency department to the staff in the ICU, as well as the entire transplant team, who he still sees regularly for follow-up care.
“When I went into the hospital, I thought, I’m never going to leave this place,” Tom relates. “And now look where I am—I was able to walk a 5K, albeit very slowly, just 10 weeks after my transplant. I have everyone at Stanford to thank for that.”
Because of his own experience, coupled with the fact that his nephew has a genetic condition that puts him at risk for developing IPF, Tom and his wife, Evelyn Skye (Stanford ’01), decided to make a gift to the School of Medicine or Stanford Health Care benefiting pulmonary research, particularly as it relates to lung transplantation.
Since a bequest is a gift included in a donor’s will, living trust, or other arrangement that will be directed to Stanford after the donor’s lifetime, this allows Tom and Evelyn to support the School of Medicine or Stanford Health Care while also maintaining current control and use of their assets.
“Giving to Stanford University over the years has enabled me to support my school,” Tom says, “and now, through a gift benefiting research being conducted at the School of Medicine or Stanford Health Care, I have the opportunity to help support the health of future generations.”
Tom remains hopeful that the lung transplantation research taking place at Stanford Medicine—research that his gift will help advance—will potentially make a difference in countless numbers of lives, including that of his own nephew.
“I am in awe of the medicine and technology that kept me alive, but there’s so much more we could do with more research,” he says. “New advances are being developed that will make these procedures safer and extend the lives of transplant recipients, and with Evelyn’s and my gift to Stanford, we get to be a part of that. It feels good to know that our legacy will live on in the lives of future patients.”
Want to know how you can leave a legacy like The Striplings’? Contact the Office of Planned Giving at 650.725.4358 or pgmed@stanford.edu to learn more.