Help with Transplant Expenses
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Hi Friends and Family,
Great news! On may 29th I got a call that Vanderbilt had a cadaver kidney that was a match for me! On may 30th at 2pm I went in to surgery and got my new kidney! It came form a healthy 19 yr old that passed away. Although I don't currently know the circumstances behind her passing, I hope to learn more in the future. I have prayed for that family every day since and will continue to do so. I just want to update everyone. I am still wishing to collect donations for expenses that will come up to maintain this new kidney. I am also using some of the current donations to pay for my moms travel expenses while she is here and to help out with her missed work. I just found out she is out of leave at work and will not be paid if she does not get hours donated to her from her co-workers. She didn't tell me previously because she didn't want to stress me out. I will also use any funds received above and beyond what I need to cover expenses to help others that are needing help finding a donor. I want to thank everyone for their support and love.
I have been on Dialysis now for 7 years. I experienced Kidney Failure as a result of an Auto-Immune disorder called Wegeners Granulomatosis. I was diagnosed with Wegeners in June of 2004. I was having problems breathing for several weeks and was told it was just upper respiratory infections then that it turned in to pneumonia. Then one morning in June I woke up and was coughing up blood. My lungs were hemoraging. I went to the emergency room and after a battery of tests that lasted 2 weeks, 2 blood transfusions, a kidney and lung biopsy I was finally diagnosed with Wegeners. That was the easy part. The 1st treatment for Wegeners is chemotherapy. So for 2 years I was on chemo. It started out with 1 treatment per month but the Wegeners was not responding and I continued to have problems with my lungs hemoraging and I was in and out of the hospital constantly. Because of that I was changed to a daily dose of chemo for the next year. During that time my kidneys started to fail. I went from normal kidney function to having what's called End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) with in about 6 months time. In March of 2006 I started dialysis. I go to dialysis 3 days a week every. There is no break. If I do not go to dialysis I will die. The only other option is for me to receive a kidney transplant .Thankfully I my Wegeners went in to Remission in 2007.
When you have ESRD and are on dialysis you are considered disabled. With ESRD I qualify for Social Security Disability. That means I don't have to work. I can collect money from the government and stay home. However I choose not to do that. Through everything I have maintained a full time job at a fortune 500 company. I work 40 hours a week in addition to the 20 hours a week I spend at dialysis. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. However I feel strongly that if I would have given up on my career I would not be alive today. My family, my friends and my job are what keeps me going. I cannot imagine my life being any different. I look forward to having my transplant and truly starting my life. I have been dealing with my illness since I was 23. I am now 31.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please consider helping to donate so I can help the person who will give me a new lease on life.
Great news! On may 29th I got a call that Vanderbilt had a cadaver kidney that was a match for me! On may 30th at 2pm I went in to surgery and got my new kidney! It came form a healthy 19 yr old that passed away. Although I don't currently know the circumstances behind her passing, I hope to learn more in the future. I have prayed for that family every day since and will continue to do so. I just want to update everyone. I am still wishing to collect donations for expenses that will come up to maintain this new kidney. I am also using some of the current donations to pay for my moms travel expenses while she is here and to help out with her missed work. I just found out she is out of leave at work and will not be paid if she does not get hours donated to her from her co-workers. She didn't tell me previously because she didn't want to stress me out. I will also use any funds received above and beyond what I need to cover expenses to help others that are needing help finding a donor. I want to thank everyone for their support and love.
I have been on Dialysis now for 7 years. I experienced Kidney Failure as a result of an Auto-Immune disorder called Wegeners Granulomatosis. I was diagnosed with Wegeners in June of 2004. I was having problems breathing for several weeks and was told it was just upper respiratory infections then that it turned in to pneumonia. Then one morning in June I woke up and was coughing up blood. My lungs were hemoraging. I went to the emergency room and after a battery of tests that lasted 2 weeks, 2 blood transfusions, a kidney and lung biopsy I was finally diagnosed with Wegeners. That was the easy part. The 1st treatment for Wegeners is chemotherapy. So for 2 years I was on chemo. It started out with 1 treatment per month but the Wegeners was not responding and I continued to have problems with my lungs hemoraging and I was in and out of the hospital constantly. Because of that I was changed to a daily dose of chemo for the next year. During that time my kidneys started to fail. I went from normal kidney function to having what's called End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) with in about 6 months time. In March of 2006 I started dialysis. I go to dialysis 3 days a week every. There is no break. If I do not go to dialysis I will die. The only other option is for me to receive a kidney transplant .Thankfully I my Wegeners went in to Remission in 2007.
When you have ESRD and are on dialysis you are considered disabled. With ESRD I qualify for Social Security Disability. That means I don't have to work. I can collect money from the government and stay home. However I choose not to do that. Through everything I have maintained a full time job at a fortune 500 company. I work 40 hours a week in addition to the 20 hours a week I spend at dialysis. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. However I feel strongly that if I would have given up on my career I would not be alive today. My family, my friends and my job are what keeps me going. I cannot imagine my life being any different. I look forward to having my transplant and truly starting my life. I have been dealing with my illness since I was 23. I am now 31.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please consider helping to donate so I can help the person who will give me a new lease on life.
Organizer
Brandy Cameron
Organizer
