Help Amanda with Medical Expenses

Our friend, Amanda Baumgardner, has been diagnosed with two rare kidney disorders known as Thin Basement Membrane Syndrome and  Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome. The latter affects less than 1 in 10,000 people.  Both are characterized by blood in her urine and near‑constant pain.

Her nephrologist and surgeon have advised her that she must have a transplant, or she will go into end stage kidney failure. While her left kidney is the more troublesome and needs more urgent attention, Amanda suffers these problems in her right kidney as well.

For this particular procedure, the transplant of choice is called an auto‑transplant. The surgeon removes the kidney, cleans it out, then re‑implants it in a nearby, but different, part of the body.

It is an extensive and complex procedure.  Only four facilities in the U.S. perform this procedure. The closest...and largest...is at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.  Amanda is on the list there, but likely will not get her surgery until June at the earliest.

Once she has the surgery, she is looking at a 6-9 month recovery. As most of you know, Amanda owns My Moon Creations in Geneseo. She will be needing a great deal of help keeping the store up and running while she recovers.  There will also be significant hotel and travel expenses for her care giver, who must, according to UW procedures, remain in town until she is ready to go home.

For those of you who don’t know, Amanda has two children, Natalie, 17, and Camden, 14. She lives in Geneseo with her significant other, Bruce Carmen, two dogs and four cats.

While Amanda has health insurance, it will not cover nearly all of the costs of this very unique surgery, not to mention the costs associated with keeping her store open and active.  Please find it in your heart to give what you can, so that the cost of this life‑saving surgery will not be a source of stress to her.

Donations in person can be made to Amanda's Kidney Fundraiser at Vibrant Bank in Geneseo, IL.

Thank you very much!