Katie's Kidney Transplant

Hello,  My name is Katie, and I have battled chronic kidney disease my entire life.  I had my first kidney transplant when I was 8 years old, and my mother was the donor.  When a new kidney was needed my senior year in college, my cousin stepped up to offer another life-saving transplant.    For the last nearly 17 years, I have lived life to the fullest with the bonus kidneys my loved ones  so generously shared.
Sadly, over the last year, I have again been battling an exhausting fight with end stage renal disease, and  a third kidney transplant will be necessary for me to survive off of dialysis.  Fortunately I have been blessed yet again with a truly wonderful and selfless person in my life who is ready and willing to donate a third kidney to me in my time of need.  Her offer is nothing short of a miracle, and if all goes as planned, we will have the surgery this April.
Because my case is a special one, and third transplants are relatively rare, we are having to travel to the amazing Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida for treatment.  It is a world-renowned center with excellent transplant outcomes, and I feel so lucky that they have accepted my case and found my donor to be a good match!
Due to the enormous expense of the surgery, I have been encouraged by Mayo social workers to fund raise for the mountain of expenses I will face.  The costs associated with such a major procedure for me and the donor are staggering, but they are only the tip of the iceberg.  As a transplant recipient, I will also have to maintain a life-long regimen of high-cost immunosuppressive drugs that will prevent my body from rejecting the new kidney.  The first four months alone also require specific anti-viral drugs that have co-pays in the thousands.  And, more than anything, I am going to need the most help with the very high cost of living expenses involved in traveling for the surgery.  While the donor will likely be allowed to go back home as soon  as one week after transplant, Bob and I will be required to live in Jacksonville, Florida for at least a month post-op barring no problems.  Even after I am allowed to travel home, I will have to visit Mayo another three to four times this year for post-surgery check ups. 
A kidney transplant expense is just not something you ever hope to face.   The entire experience is financially burdensome to say the least, regardless of one's socioeconomic position.  And the unknowns are too numerous to count.  Thank you dear friends for considering a part in our cause.  Your love, help and supportive prayers have truly sustained us, and we are already incredibly grateful.