To help their nephew who is awaiting a lung transplant, a Whaleyville couple is selling raffle tickets to raise funds to offset costs for the surgery.

Brenda and Robert Clayton are selling tickets to help cover the cost of a transplant surgery that isn’t covered by insurance for their nephew Jason Clayton, of Richmond, who has cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening chronic lung disease.

Tickets are $5 each, and the prize includes a propane-powered, whole-house generator and installation anywhere in Virginia.

“We’re doing everything we can to help him, because his entire life he’s never known what it’s like to breathe like a normal person,” Brenda Clayton said.

Jason, who is now 32, has lived with cystic fibrosis since birth, and he has been on the lung transplant list for more than three years, she said.

“If he wants to see 33, he’s got to have that double-lung transplant,” she said.

On Sept. 1, Jason was placed on the active transplant list, which means as soon as a matching set of lungs becomes available, he will have the surgery.

However, Brenda Clayton said, there is a considerable extra cost involved with the procedure, so his family is working to raise funds.

“We’re trying with all of our might and praying for a miracle, so we can keep him around a little longer,” she said.

As part of the fundraising efforts, Jason’s other aunt and uncle, Mark and Tammy Southall, who own an electrical contracting company in Farmville, donated the whole-house generator and the installation to be raffled.

Brenda Clayton said she encourages people to buy tickets, because it’s an opportunity to help a young man have a more normal life.

“Trying to help another individual live, those opportunities don’t come along every day,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to do something selfless.”

To purchase a ticket, contact Brenda and Robert Clayton through email at rb4954@aol.com or by phone at 986-2836.