Heather's Kidney Removal & Recovery
Donation protected
My sister is pretty cool. She loves animals, theater, and Fallout the game. She can be a dork and do silly things sometimes, but that's just her. She is caring and we have had a pretty intersting history growing up together.
When we were younger, we shared a room with a bunk bed for some time. I remeber she started having issues around 5 years old when she would randomly get up in the middle of the night to throw up. It was chalked up to lactose intollerance at that time, then another potential illness, and then another one after all the other treatments weren't working. We couldn't explain it. It kept happening and happening. At one point, she was getting up every night to throw up about 2 hours after going to bed. A little girl having to deal with this all the time was just crazy and hard on her and the entire family. It was becoming very strange and concerning. She was taken to a specialist at CHOC Orange for an ultra sound.
There it was discovered that her kidney was blocked and wasn't draining. The kideny had become deformed due to the pressure. She was throwing up because her body couldn't process liquid properly. We were so thankful that after a few years of not knowing what was happening there was finally an answer. She went into surgery at CHOC Hospital Orange to have her uretur cut and moved into a new position since this was causing the blockage. Her kidney was at 22% working power, so this was found just in time. We were so happy that she could finally live with some relief and not have to deal with this every night. It seemed like that was the last time we had to deal with that and she could live her life...
Everything was very normal up until 2 months ago. My sister, now 21, started experiencing abdominal pain which put her in the ER back in January. It was discovered that the same kidney was blocked yet again. Just like it was before, the kidney was at 22% working power. The prior surgery provided some releif, but it was suspected that scar tissues may be blocking the uretur again. She under went surgery a week later to correct this at the end of January this year. Still in pain she went into recovery, but the pain pursisted.
Surgery was unsuccesful. The kidney continued to decline. I received a call last week of her in tears while in the ER yet again, unable to function without intense pain and not knowing why this was happening.
In the last few days, it was determined her kidney is dying and cannot be saved.
My sister is losing her kidney this Monday March 21st 2016. She is very scared. Very scared for surgery, very scared for the fact that the pain may continue, and that this will change her life forever...but also because she is facing a mountain of medical bills. She has already been in the ER 5 times in the last 2 months and is having major surgery which will keep her in the hospital for a few days. She is looking at some where around $7,000- $10,000 in bills. She is waiting to get the final quote from insurance on the actual kidney removal as we speak. She will also be out of work for a month while she recovers from this surgery. She needs all the help she can get at this point.
Any bit helps. I am doubtful we will reach the total amount, but if this helps my sister in any way, I will be eternally grateful. I love her and want to help reduce the gravity of at least the medical bills so she can focus on getting better.
Thank You to everyone that took the time to read this,
Lizz
When we were younger, we shared a room with a bunk bed for some time. I remeber she started having issues around 5 years old when she would randomly get up in the middle of the night to throw up. It was chalked up to lactose intollerance at that time, then another potential illness, and then another one after all the other treatments weren't working. We couldn't explain it. It kept happening and happening. At one point, she was getting up every night to throw up about 2 hours after going to bed. A little girl having to deal with this all the time was just crazy and hard on her and the entire family. It was becoming very strange and concerning. She was taken to a specialist at CHOC Orange for an ultra sound.
There it was discovered that her kidney was blocked and wasn't draining. The kideny had become deformed due to the pressure. She was throwing up because her body couldn't process liquid properly. We were so thankful that after a few years of not knowing what was happening there was finally an answer. She went into surgery at CHOC Hospital Orange to have her uretur cut and moved into a new position since this was causing the blockage. Her kidney was at 22% working power, so this was found just in time. We were so happy that she could finally live with some relief and not have to deal with this every night. It seemed like that was the last time we had to deal with that and she could live her life...
Everything was very normal up until 2 months ago. My sister, now 21, started experiencing abdominal pain which put her in the ER back in January. It was discovered that the same kidney was blocked yet again. Just like it was before, the kidney was at 22% working power. The prior surgery provided some releif, but it was suspected that scar tissues may be blocking the uretur again. She under went surgery a week later to correct this at the end of January this year. Still in pain she went into recovery, but the pain pursisted.
Surgery was unsuccesful. The kidney continued to decline. I received a call last week of her in tears while in the ER yet again, unable to function without intense pain and not knowing why this was happening.
In the last few days, it was determined her kidney is dying and cannot be saved.
My sister is losing her kidney this Monday March 21st 2016. She is very scared. Very scared for surgery, very scared for the fact that the pain may continue, and that this will change her life forever...but also because she is facing a mountain of medical bills. She has already been in the ER 5 times in the last 2 months and is having major surgery which will keep her in the hospital for a few days. She is looking at some where around $7,000- $10,000 in bills. She is waiting to get the final quote from insurance on the actual kidney removal as we speak. She will also be out of work for a month while she recovers from this surgery. She needs all the help she can get at this point.
Any bit helps. I am doubtful we will reach the total amount, but if this helps my sister in any way, I will be eternally grateful. I love her and want to help reduce the gravity of at least the medical bills so she can focus on getting better.
Thank You to everyone that took the time to read this,
Lizz
Organizer
Lizz Metcalf
Organizer
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
