All-in for Tina
Donation protected
Welcome everyone to Christina's(Tina) GoFundMe campaign. I'm Phillip, Christina's boyfriend of 4 years. I am trying to raise money to help with Tina's medical bills, travel expenses, lifelong medication, housing, and future trips to the Mayo Clinic for follow-ups.
Since her surgery was done out of state, Medicare only covers 80% and Tina would have to cover the other 20%.
In 2009, Tina was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy. IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune kidney disease where the body's immune system harms the kidneys. Tina's kidney functions diminished to the point where she would need dialysis to live. In the summer of 2014, Tina was placed on the transplant list at Stanford Hospital. The waitlist for a kidney transplant then was around 6 years. Today, the wait is over 8 years. At the end of 2014, Tina had surgery to have a catheter placed in her abdomen. This catheter would be her lifeline to help her body filter out all the impurities.
Everything should be ok, right? Just wait for a call and everything would be ok. That was the plan...
Nothing was easy for TIna.
February 2015 she had surgery for an inguinal hernia.
January 2016 the first catheter was replaced to try to reduce the "Drain pain".
February 2016, Tina had an abdominal infection near her exit site and had to get the 2nd catheter removed. A permacath was put in for hemodialysis.
May 2016, Tina has her 3rd catheter surgery.
When it rains, it pours...
Being on dialysis wasn't easy for Tina. Being connected to a machine for 10hrs a day is rough. Half of her day is gone. Almost every night Tina had "drain pain". The pain came from the suction of the catheter pulling at her insides. You're probably thinking how did Tina sleep when there was pain during dialysis. She would get minimal sleep during dialysis and just try to rest after it was over. Tina developed insomnia, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, nausea, and sometimes the medication wouldn't sit well with her. It was tough to see her go through all the surgeries and the pain that came with all of them.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Tina still kept her sense of humor throughout and always tried to think positive.
The past 4+ years haven't all been doom and gloom. Tina has had good moments:
She loves the Golden State Warriors and she was able to witness not 1 but 3 championships won by the Warriors. She got to go to a few games including playoffs.
Took Tina to her first hockey game. It was during playoffs so all you hockey fans know the playoff atmosphere at the Shark Tank.
We were able to go on a few vacations including Hawaii. Had to take a bunch of supplies but we managed. PRO TIP invest in a dolly.
She is a loving mother to Charlie, her cat.
She also adopted the neighborhood community cat named Cornelius.
Being tired all the time and low on energy Tina was still able to graduate from Cal State East Bay with a Bachelors degree in Business.
Tina also learned how to cook. Yes, ladies and gentlemen without the use of a microwave. Since she was unable to sleep at night, she would watch food-related videos. I would wake up to messages about how she wants to try cooking and that she has the list of ingredients all set to go. So far she has cooked pho, pasta, zucchini lasagna, spaghetti, garlic bread, salmon, steak, pizza, and she mastered eggs over easy.
The call......
9/19/18 we were in Reno having lunch. She missed a call and checked the voicemail. The message was from Mayo and it said to call back as soon as possible. Tina stepped out and called the number back. After calling, she comes back into the restaurant shaking and tells me," HOLY $#!% baby Mayo just called and they said they have a kidney for me", She still had to wait the next day for confirmation. She called her mom in the car and it was just a ton of emotions. Tina couldn't say "Mayo called and they have a kidney for me" without breaking into tears. We headed back to the hotel and decided to leave early the next day. I tried to sleep but Tina couldn't sleep all night.
9/20/18 head back home and Mayo calls again. They confirm that the kidney is hers and Tina tells them she will fly out at 5pm. Once she gets there they will start the surgery later on that night. Tina and her mom pack up and head to Arizona. Later on that day at around midnight, Tina's mom texted me that they began the kidney transplant.
9/21/18 Transplant was a success. Everything is going smoothly and she resting.
I want to thank everyone for praying for Tina. Thanks for taking your time to read Christina's campaign. Thanks for donating to a great cause.
Just wanted to leave a message to Christina.
HI baby. We finally made it. You finally made it. I am still in shock about what just happened. You get the call and in 24hrs you were off to Arizona. I was a mess and still am. I still break down from time to time. I know we talked about how if you got a call while I was in school that you wanted me to finish up cause the finish line is so close. I'll keep it going. I miss you so much and I am so thankful to have you in my life. You always put others before yourself. Now I want you to focus on healing and recovery. Don't rush ok. You have a lot of family and friends for support. I am so happy that everyone is so supportive. I just can't really process the past few days. It has been crazy. It made you sad to find out that the kidney was from a pediatric donor. I know you will take great care of the kidney so in a way you are keeping a part of them alive. I am happy knowing that you can finally get some GOOD sleep without a machine beeping or causing you pain. I am still at a loss for words. I will see you when you get back. Your journey is just starting. Get a lot of rest and heal up. You are the strongest person I know. You are my superwoman. I love you so much.
Phil
Since her surgery was done out of state, Medicare only covers 80% and Tina would have to cover the other 20%.
In 2009, Tina was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy. IgA nephropathy is an autoimmune kidney disease where the body's immune system harms the kidneys. Tina's kidney functions diminished to the point where she would need dialysis to live. In the summer of 2014, Tina was placed on the transplant list at Stanford Hospital. The waitlist for a kidney transplant then was around 6 years. Today, the wait is over 8 years. At the end of 2014, Tina had surgery to have a catheter placed in her abdomen. This catheter would be her lifeline to help her body filter out all the impurities.
Everything should be ok, right? Just wait for a call and everything would be ok. That was the plan...
Nothing was easy for TIna.
February 2015 she had surgery for an inguinal hernia.
January 2016 the first catheter was replaced to try to reduce the "Drain pain".
February 2016, Tina had an abdominal infection near her exit site and had to get the 2nd catheter removed. A permacath was put in for hemodialysis.
May 2016, Tina has her 3rd catheter surgery.
When it rains, it pours...
Being on dialysis wasn't easy for Tina. Being connected to a machine for 10hrs a day is rough. Half of her day is gone. Almost every night Tina had "drain pain". The pain came from the suction of the catheter pulling at her insides. You're probably thinking how did Tina sleep when there was pain during dialysis. She would get minimal sleep during dialysis and just try to rest after it was over. Tina developed insomnia, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, nausea, and sometimes the medication wouldn't sit well with her. It was tough to see her go through all the surgeries and the pain that came with all of them.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Tina still kept her sense of humor throughout and always tried to think positive.
The past 4+ years haven't all been doom and gloom. Tina has had good moments:
She loves the Golden State Warriors and she was able to witness not 1 but 3 championships won by the Warriors. She got to go to a few games including playoffs.
Took Tina to her first hockey game. It was during playoffs so all you hockey fans know the playoff atmosphere at the Shark Tank.
We were able to go on a few vacations including Hawaii. Had to take a bunch of supplies but we managed. PRO TIP invest in a dolly.
She is a loving mother to Charlie, her cat.
She also adopted the neighborhood community cat named Cornelius.Being tired all the time and low on energy Tina was still able to graduate from Cal State East Bay with a Bachelors degree in Business.
Tina also learned how to cook. Yes, ladies and gentlemen without the use of a microwave. Since she was unable to sleep at night, she would watch food-related videos. I would wake up to messages about how she wants to try cooking and that she has the list of ingredients all set to go. So far she has cooked pho, pasta, zucchini lasagna, spaghetti, garlic bread, salmon, steak, pizza, and she mastered eggs over easy.
The call......
9/19/18 we were in Reno having lunch. She missed a call and checked the voicemail. The message was from Mayo and it said to call back as soon as possible. Tina stepped out and called the number back. After calling, she comes back into the restaurant shaking and tells me," HOLY $#!% baby Mayo just called and they said they have a kidney for me", She still had to wait the next day for confirmation. She called her mom in the car and it was just a ton of emotions. Tina couldn't say "Mayo called and they have a kidney for me" without breaking into tears. We headed back to the hotel and decided to leave early the next day. I tried to sleep but Tina couldn't sleep all night.
9/20/18 head back home and Mayo calls again. They confirm that the kidney is hers and Tina tells them she will fly out at 5pm. Once she gets there they will start the surgery later on that night. Tina and her mom pack up and head to Arizona. Later on that day at around midnight, Tina's mom texted me that they began the kidney transplant.
9/21/18 Transplant was a success. Everything is going smoothly and she resting.
I want to thank everyone for praying for Tina. Thanks for taking your time to read Christina's campaign. Thanks for donating to a great cause.
Just wanted to leave a message to Christina.
HI baby. We finally made it. You finally made it. I am still in shock about what just happened. You get the call and in 24hrs you were off to Arizona. I was a mess and still am. I still break down from time to time. I know we talked about how if you got a call while I was in school that you wanted me to finish up cause the finish line is so close. I'll keep it going. I miss you so much and I am so thankful to have you in my life. You always put others before yourself. Now I want you to focus on healing and recovery. Don't rush ok. You have a lot of family and friends for support. I am so happy that everyone is so supportive. I just can't really process the past few days. It has been crazy. It made you sad to find out that the kidney was from a pediatric donor. I know you will take great care of the kidney so in a way you are keeping a part of them alive. I am happy knowing that you can finally get some GOOD sleep without a machine beeping or causing you pain. I am still at a loss for words. I will see you when you get back. Your journey is just starting. Get a lot of rest and heal up. You are the strongest person I know. You are my superwoman. I love you so much.
Phil
Organizer
Phillip Ambrocio
Organizer
San Jose, CA
