Kidney Fund for Loving Father of 5

We are the DiBella children- Christina,  Anthony,  and Joseph- also speaking on behalf of our two little brothers, Nicky and Ashton

This is our Dad, Anthony, better known by his friends and family as “Ace”.

He is a hard-working father of five with a life-long passion for music, classic cars and most importantly, his children.






He’s notorious for his goofy sense of humor and making people laugh and has always been someone others can depend on.

In November 2011, after getting a blood test prompted by some unusual pains, he received a call from the doctor on his way to work telling him he needed to get to a hospital immediately.  His blood test revealed he had less than 10% overall kidney function and that he  needed immediate medical attention. The doctors couldn’t believe he was functioning given the circumstances and said if this happened a few days later he most likely would not be alive. This was a blessing in itself and we are incredibly grateful someone was watching over our father that day.

For the past five years, he's been undergoing dialysis treatments multiple times a week, for 3+ hours which has increasingly impacted his overall physical health and mental spirit. He recently had to file for permanent disability, rendering him essentially unable to work. Our father is the type of man who has worked hard all his life, so being stripped of that, along with a long list of foods and drinks he can no longer enjoy because of his condition, has been noticeably difficult for him.

Kidney failure affects hundreds of thousands of people, and our heartfelt prayers go out to all victims and families of those with the disease.  With each passing month and year, we've hoped he would be closer to receiving a transplant, as many are lucky to have experienced over time.

Over the past few months, our dad has been receiving calls from the transplant center at the hospital to set up appointments to perform pre-transplant tests, which typically means you are due for a transplant in the foreseeable future. As it turns out, our Dad has been ignoring these calls knowing he most likely would never be able to afford the out of pocket expenses for the transplant surgery and the associated and indefinite costs thereafter.  The average cost of a kidney transplant in the US is $260,000, of which his Medicare will cover 80%, leaving over $50,000 in out of pocket expenses plus postoperative anti-rejection medication, which can be as much as $3,000 per month and will be needed for as long as he lives. 


Our dad is the type of person who would do anything for his family but is stubborn by nature in that he doesn’t like to burden others, to the point where he doesn't want to ask for help even when it comes to saving his own life.  Learning that he would rather suffer on dialysis than ask anyone for help breaks our hearts more than did finding out about his condition in the first place. The average life expectancy of a person receiving dialysis is 5-10 years, and while we are optimistic our dad will rise above this average, we don't want to watch him wither away because he won't ask for help. Most importantly, we want our little brothers to be able to grow up with their dad around.



He doesn't know we set this up for him (yet), and we’re 100% certain he wouldn't let us do this if he knew about it beforehand.  

Ace’s 55th birthday is coming up at the end of February.  With your help, we can really make sure it’s one he will remember for years to come.  Any donations we receive will help tremendously with our Dad's medical expenses and our gratitude for your support simply cannot be expressed in words. If you cannot donate, we would be just as grateful if you could share this page with your friends and family.

Thank you all for listening to our story and for your love and support, it really means more than you can ever imagine.  Happy New Year and God bless.