Help John find a kidney donor

PLEASE help a local family through the economic crisis of a sudden illness. Nothing blind-sides a family more than a catastrophic critical illness. Our current economic culture requires two wage earning adults to keep most households afloat. When a main source of income becomes injured or ill, even temporarily, bills start piling up quick and going under becomes imminent. This is what is happening to this young family right now, for the second time in two yearsKiersten and John are the kind of people who do not have a lot but don’t need a lot either. They sustain their close family on mutual love, deep devotion to each other & their children ... and cutting corners, everywhere, always. They are people who are ALWAYS helping others, NEVER asking for help. A year ago, when they were poised to finally be able to buy a house, they found out John’s younger brother, a teenager, was being neglected and needed a stable home to finish high school. They opened their hearts and their small, already crowded two bedroom apartment to him, becoming his guardian. It was a tremendous added strain they willingly took on. Shortly thereafter,  the unthinkable happened.  John became critically ill - kidney failure.  He was hospitalized and out of work for several weeks. Juggling her own job, two very young boys and a cousin’s toddler they routinely care for, Kiersten went into fifth gear, running  on empty for weeks; keeping all the balls in the air until John was well enough to go back to work.  John’s critical illness  and the addition of a teenage mouth to feed, created a serious financial setback.  Buying a house became an impossible dream overnight. They blew through all their savings just to make ends meet and have been playing catch-up ever since. Nevertheless, grateful John got well. Now, just as they were pulling out from under last years’s costly events, John went into kidney failure again, with other equally serious health issues.  He’s currently in ICU awaiting a biopsy to find out if he’ll need to be put on a kidney transplant list. Simultaneously, they’re facing eviction, behind in many bills with no end in sight and no place to turn for help. The company that owns their apartment complex is proceeding with eviction, knowing John is critically ill and in spite of Kiersten’s numerous attempts to make payment arrangements.  Even with all of this going on in her life,  Kiersten would still help any friend, family or stranger in need.  She still says “if you need help call me”.  It’s part of her DNA.  She would find the time and tap into her endless well of generous energy.  How things can turn on a dime.  Less than a month ago, Kiersten and John were helping a friend move until midnight, to a third floor apartment because no one else could or would. We’ve known Kiersten since she was in middle school. She’s one of the kindest, most generous, optimistic and uplifting people you could ever meet.  John is a hard working devoted husband and father. Together they represent a generation of hard working young people in an economy nearly impossible to make ends meet, with the cost of living far exceeding wages.  They live from paycheck to paycheck, often one unexpected occurrence or illness away from financial disaster. Please give what you can, what’s in your heart and what you can afford. Every little bit will help. “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up”......John Holmes