Your Help is Needed

I never thought I would find myself asking for help from people I’ve never met. Although I was born less than perfect, I always considered myself one of the lucky
ones. I was born with only 1 functioning kidney and at the age of 8, I was diagnosed
with Type 1 Diabetes. Needless to say, growing up a diabetic was no walk in the
park. I spent much of my childhood in the hospital or ER, loosing consciousness in
school, and many other places. My glucose levels often fluctuated between 300 and
500. My diabetes caused the decay of my functioning kidney, eventually leading to
complete kidney failure. I was placed on peritoneal dialysis. This meant that a
catheter was placed in my abdomen and used to filter my body daily. Needless to
say, this prevented me from being able to work or perform normal daily functions. I
was at the mercy of my loving family for emotional, physical and financial support. I
remained in this state, dealing with various health issues associated with my
condition for more than 3 years until, miraculously, my turn came to receive a kidney
and pancreas transplant. I can’t begin to explain how happy and relieved I was to be
receiving this gift. I saw my future so bright I could hardly contain my excitement. I
was finally going to lead a normal life, to hold a steady job, and to do all the things I
was never able to do because of my lifelong battle with diabetes. It is now 8 months
since I received the new organs. All seemed well at the beginning, I was working full
time, enjoying my life with my wife and dogs and making plans for our future. Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived as I began to have complications from the
transplant and have been hospitalized for weeks at a time during the past few
months. Although my employers knew of my condition, and knew I was
hospitalized, I was let go without any compensation or help. I understand that it’s
not their problem and that I have no recourse as a new employee. However, this has
meant total financial devastation for my family. Although my wife holds a steady job, what she makes is just not enough to cover our day-to-day expenses. I’ve never been
a burden to society and have always tried to work no matter what but my body
seems to be giving up at this time and I don’t know what else to do. I am reaching
out to you out of desperation. I need your help during this recovery period, until my
body can stabilize and accept these new organs. I am hopeful that it won’t be long
until I can leave the hospital and get a new job. I’m still optimistic and I’ll never give
up. Thank you in advance for your generosity and May God bless you always. Alex
Vallejo