Local man awaits lung transplant

A fundraiser set for next weekend will help Curtis Almeter breathe easier.

The 26-year-old 2009 Crowder College graduate suffers from cystic fibrosis. After the Saturday fundraiser, he will move to St. Louis to await a lung transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

“You’re never going to be ready for something like this, but here it is,” Almeter said.

The disease is genetic and he’s suffered from it all his life, but in the past five years his lung function has decreased.

“My lungs are actually at 20 percent right now,” he said.

That means he has to carry around an oxygen tank and the activities that he loved —sports, lifting weights, volleyball, basketball — are out of his reach for the moment.

But he misses one thing more than all the other activities.

“Photography is my life,” Almeter said. “At least it used to be.”

He became interested in photography in 2005 and worked for a newspaper in a Kansas City suburb for a time. He moved to Neosho to attend Crowder College and worked for the school’s publication, the Sentry, and as a stringer for other local publications.
Portraits, he said, are one of his favorite things.

“I really like photographing people,” Almeter said. “My heart is in portraiture, shooting people and getting to know them.”

He’s worked with aspiring models, photographed weddings, taken senior portraits and created some themed art. He’s even used his creative outlet to document his struggle with cystic fibrosis.

“I am kind of an artist,” Almeter said. “I like to come up with new ideas, not the typical stuff you’d see.”

He calls his photography “Life Through a Lens.” Lots of photographers shoot railroad tracks, parks and flowers, Almeter said, but he has a singular take on things.

“I don’t like clichés,” he said. “I like shooting different things.”

Like his portrait of a human doll or a friend dressed in newspaper. Almeter said he uses a variety of techniques to get his images. Lighting and “painting with light,” he said, is key.

“Lighting can make a world of difference in a photo,” he said, whether harsh or muted. “It just depends on the idea that I’m going for.”

He became interested in portraits because of when people look at his pictures they are more interested in the ones that have a face.

“They can relate more to a picture of a person than a sunset or a waterfall or whatever,” he said.
Photojournalism, he says, captures raw emotion in people.

“In an image, it can say so much more than anything you can ever write,” Almeter said.

Tastes can be subjective, however. For the silent auction, he has pulled together a collection of landscapes. Getting back to work is the goal for Almeter.

 “Right now, staying healthy is my life,” he said.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic defect.

“All the cells in my body are affected. It causes secretions in my lungs that are thicker than normal,” Almeter said.

That makes it more difficult to clear and the mucus can harbor bacteria. Hospital visits have been a routine part of Almeter’s life. Repeated lung infections have scarred his lungs and now it’s time to get new ones. Right now, everything look good for a successful transplant, but that doesn’t make the surgery any less intimidating.

“They say when you’re ready you’ll know,” he said.

Now he knows what they meant. Deteriorating lung function has left him frustrated with what he cannot do. Walking tires him. He planned to continue his education this fall, but was too sick. His slipping health means he is losing his independence and he doesn’t like to ask for help.

“It feels like you’re less like yourself,” he said.

Every day is a psychological battle to stay positive, with Almeter focusing on his life after the lung transplant when he can start taking pictures again.

“I’ve kind of had to put my life on hold. As soon as I get back to health, I’m ready to hit the ground running,” he said.

While he says he never pictured himself as the focus of a fundraiser, the event Saturday will go towards expenses for the surgery. Typical waits for a lung transplant can be four or five months and he will have to recuperate there for at least three months.

Everyone wants to think they can count on their friends, Almeter says, and he’s grateful for the support he has received.

The fundraiser for Almeter will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Banner Church of the Nazarene, 597 North Ford Rd., outside Anderson. Dinner is $6 and there will be a silent auction of his work that closes at 8:30 p.m. For directions call 845-6855 or 658-5427.

Donations will go through the Midwest / West Lung Transplant division of the National Transplant Assistance Fund. For more information or to donate online, find Curtis Almeter’s profile on www.transplantfund.org.