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Hi, my name is Ariel. I am the husband of this beautiful woman, Kimberly. To our friends who are visiting this page and to those who are seeing this for the first time, thank you for taking the time to read this page.
Kimberly is currently suffering from a rare systemic auto immune disorder called Multicentric Castleman's disease. We are starting this GoFundMe in order to help with the medical expenses that are related to treating this disease.
The first signs of an issue occurred back in February 2014. As Kim was coming home from a trip from Columbus Ohio, she noticed that the swelling she had gotten from the plane ride had not gone away. This led down to a path of doctors, going from her initial primary doctor, to a nephrologist. During the next nine months we also visited multiple doctors based on eastern medicine, which includes; a homeopathic doctor(our most helpful doctor to this day), two chinese acupuncturists (first one didn't work out too well), and a 2nd nephrologist. All the while Kim's symptoms began to worsen, as her edema would spread to random body parts, and her body became weak.
Our Acupuncturist at the time then recommended another blood test, which tested her potassium levels as extremely high. This prompted us to go the ER in order to get this checked out. A day in the ER in order to flush out the excess potassium did wonders for her, but it also led to a talk with the ER doctor. The doctor recommended Kim to stay at the hospital in order to run a host of tests to pinpoint what could be causing this issue. Four weeks away from our wedding, and Kim had a decision to make. Whether we stick with the inital path that our homeopathic and acupuncture doctor had set for us, or take the route of checking out the underlying cause through the hospital we were currently residing. We chose to stay and do the complete run through of tests. At the time we thought that it may be the best decision and most convenient, but this was the real start of her medical issues.
During the stay, she took a multitude of tests ranging from ultra sounds, an x-ray, a CT scan, and a nuclear medicine scan. At the same time, different diuretics were given to her orally and intravenously in order to get rid of the edema. Unfortunately, all the scans came back negative, and she was then released a week later. The big issues began a week before the wedding, when her stomach was the size of being eight months pregnant. This prompted us to visit the nephrologist office, and gain the approval for a paracentesis of her abdomen two days before the wedding.
(wedding photo from August 22nd, 2015)
A few days after our wedding, Kim went through the Kidney biopsy. What was initially thought to be "glomerulonephritis", was then later scrapped to be thought of as a blood disorder. She was then referred to a hematologist in order to get her lymph nodes checked, and through a series of specific blood tests, they ruled out most auto immune diseases. A 2nd trip to the hospital (recommendations from our hematologist) came about with a series of tests again. This time, multiple small lymph nodes were found in different parts of the body. A lymph node biopsy came right after that, which then concluded with her current diagnosis of Castleman's Disease.
Since then Kim has been on dialysis three days a week, receives a paracentesis once a week for the abdomen, has gone through tests with other specialists in order to treat different symptoms, and is going through immunotherapy treatment. At this point our nephrologist does not believe her kidneys can recover, and therefore is recommending that if things do get worse, a transplant may be necessary. She is also on her second immunotherapy drug, as the first one (rituxan) gave her an allergic reaction. We are hoping that this second drug Sylvant will work and heal the underlying issue. At the same time, we are also working with a new internal medicine doctor, who is helping her with changing her diet and taking the right supplements.
This leads to why we are creating a gofundme page. Over the course of two years, expenses have been racking up and will continue to increase as we try to get her healed. Which is why 90% of the money will go to relieving the debt that has been growing, as well as any new expenses from treatment. The rest of the money will be put into a savings account in order to prepare for a possible kidney transplant.
We want to grow old together. To take trips, eat great food, share experiences with each other. Unfortunately this disease is trying to take that away from us. But your donation would mean the world to us, as having our medical expenses lowered would mean more focus on bringing her health back up. Whether you are able to donate or not, please share this article with others as this is a story that needs to be heard.
Thank you
Kimberly is currently suffering from a rare systemic auto immune disorder called Multicentric Castleman's disease. We are starting this GoFundMe in order to help with the medical expenses that are related to treating this disease.
The first signs of an issue occurred back in February 2014. As Kim was coming home from a trip from Columbus Ohio, she noticed that the swelling she had gotten from the plane ride had not gone away. This led down to a path of doctors, going from her initial primary doctor, to a nephrologist. During the next nine months we also visited multiple doctors based on eastern medicine, which includes; a homeopathic doctor(our most helpful doctor to this day), two chinese acupuncturists (first one didn't work out too well), and a 2nd nephrologist. All the while Kim's symptoms began to worsen, as her edema would spread to random body parts, and her body became weak.
Our Acupuncturist at the time then recommended another blood test, which tested her potassium levels as extremely high. This prompted us to go the ER in order to get this checked out. A day in the ER in order to flush out the excess potassium did wonders for her, but it also led to a talk with the ER doctor. The doctor recommended Kim to stay at the hospital in order to run a host of tests to pinpoint what could be causing this issue. Four weeks away from our wedding, and Kim had a decision to make. Whether we stick with the inital path that our homeopathic and acupuncture doctor had set for us, or take the route of checking out the underlying cause through the hospital we were currently residing. We chose to stay and do the complete run through of tests. At the time we thought that it may be the best decision and most convenient, but this was the real start of her medical issues.
During the stay, she took a multitude of tests ranging from ultra sounds, an x-ray, a CT scan, and a nuclear medicine scan. At the same time, different diuretics were given to her orally and intravenously in order to get rid of the edema. Unfortunately, all the scans came back negative, and she was then released a week later. The big issues began a week before the wedding, when her stomach was the size of being eight months pregnant. This prompted us to visit the nephrologist office, and gain the approval for a paracentesis of her abdomen two days before the wedding.
(wedding photo from August 22nd, 2015)A few days after our wedding, Kim went through the Kidney biopsy. What was initially thought to be "glomerulonephritis", was then later scrapped to be thought of as a blood disorder. She was then referred to a hematologist in order to get her lymph nodes checked, and through a series of specific blood tests, they ruled out most auto immune diseases. A 2nd trip to the hospital (recommendations from our hematologist) came about with a series of tests again. This time, multiple small lymph nodes were found in different parts of the body. A lymph node biopsy came right after that, which then concluded with her current diagnosis of Castleman's Disease.
Since then Kim has been on dialysis three days a week, receives a paracentesis once a week for the abdomen, has gone through tests with other specialists in order to treat different symptoms, and is going through immunotherapy treatment. At this point our nephrologist does not believe her kidneys can recover, and therefore is recommending that if things do get worse, a transplant may be necessary. She is also on her second immunotherapy drug, as the first one (rituxan) gave her an allergic reaction. We are hoping that this second drug Sylvant will work and heal the underlying issue. At the same time, we are also working with a new internal medicine doctor, who is helping her with changing her diet and taking the right supplements.
This leads to why we are creating a gofundme page. Over the course of two years, expenses have been racking up and will continue to increase as we try to get her healed. Which is why 90% of the money will go to relieving the debt that has been growing, as well as any new expenses from treatment. The rest of the money will be put into a savings account in order to prepare for a possible kidney transplant.
We want to grow old together. To take trips, eat great food, share experiences with each other. Unfortunately this disease is trying to take that away from us. But your donation would mean the world to us, as having our medical expenses lowered would mean more focus on bringing her health back up. Whether you are able to donate or not, please share this article with others as this is a story that needs to be heard.
Thank you