Ben's Medical Fund

About a year ago I was diagnosed with end stage renal failure. It came as a surprise and Skye and I were completely unprepared. My first stay in the hospital was right at two weeks and the bills started to pile up. I was able to qualify for some coverage through Medicare and a small amount was written off by the hospital. Despite this we continue to be overwhelmed by the standing debt. Fast forward a few months and I've been listed on the recipient list for kidney donation. I let my friends and family know and the very first person to offer to be tested was a perfect match. We scheduled the surgery for a couple months down the road and started meeting with the transplant team. The donor took a substantial amount of unpaid leave from his job and drove from Texas to Tennessee to spend the time needed to go through the transplant and recovery. We went for a final meeting two days before the surgery and found out that one of my tests came back very high and forced us to postpone the surgery. The labs have been retaken and are normalizing but the team is still pushing the surgery back. This means that the donor is going to have to take more time off and his costs are beginning to pile up as well. The majority of the money raised here is going to help him recoup his costs and cover some of the housing for the donor, myself, and our supportive families that are helping us recover. It's a tremendous blessing that I found a living donor so quickly. Some folks have to wait years and getting through this so soon will extend the length and quality of my life greatly. My main regret is that I have to ask the donor to take even more time off and take even more of a loss just to benefit me. Accordingly, I've decided to take this to my friends and family and ask that everyone help me cover at least part of his losses. We tallied his needs to be nearly $15,000 in travel expenses, lost wages, and caregiver expenses during recovery. The remaining $5.000 I am requesting is to help cover my own travel and medical expenses. It has ebeen a difficult path, but I am grateful for all the support I have already received and will continue to receive from my friends and loved ones. I am confident that there is a greater plan at work, and feel blessed to be a part of it.