My name is Diane Manno, I am trying to raise funds for my daughter Bethany Manno.  

Bethany is a die hard Giants fan and mom to two beautiful children.  Bethany was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease when she was 16 years old.  When she was 20 years old, her kidneys completely failed and she began dialysis.  She was on dialysis for five years.  Throughout that time she went to college full time while getting dialysis three times per week.  During her student teaching she got her first kidney transplant.  This was a life saving surgery that allowed her to have 12 years off of dialysis.  Throughout this time however she continued to have health issues and several rejection episodes.  She graduated college with honors and earned her teaching degree, further proving she was a fighter who vowed to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher.

After some years of good health, Bethany adopted two children from the foster care system.  Ty and Maddie are now 10 and 11 years old.  They are very active and energetic children who love to play sports.  They are the light of Bethany's life and they keep her going.  

In 2011 Bethany became sick once again and was hospitalized with end stage kidney disease.  A new graft was put into her arm as well as a shunt in her chest and she began dialysis once again.  Bethany gets dialysis three times per week for over four hours per treatment.  These treatments are the only thing keeping Bethany alive.  Although dialysis is a life saving treatment, it is very hard on the body.  Her bones have begun to deteriorate and she is in a lot of pain when she walks.  She has difficulty going up and down stairs and she often gets short of breath.  Bethany has a surgical procedure done on her arm every 30-40 days because her graft gets clogged and her arm swells up. Unfortunately Bethany has had several graft operations and all of them were unsuccessful.  Her current graft is her lifeline and we are trying to keep it going.  She has also had several surgeries on her parathyroid and thyroid due to the kidney disease and what it does to the body.  

As you can imagine life has not been easy for Bethany.  She has been sick for more than half of her life.  She has been in and out of the hospital since she was a teenager.  She has had 4 graft/fistula surgeries, 2 parathyroid surgeries, one transplant surgery and one surgery to have the transplant removed as well as many surgical procedures to open up her graft.  Not to mention all of the ER visits and hospital stays.  Bethany has had to suffer through dialysis for a total of 11 years.  While insurance covers some of the bills, she still has outstanding medical bills that are difficult to pay on disability.  I am trying to help her raise money to pay for some of these medical bills as well as other items to help with her disability.  

Thanks for everyone's donations so far, Bethany now has her mobility scooter and it's been a huge help to her.  Now we hope to buy a trailer to transport the scooter on the back of her car, as well as pay off the medical bills that are horribly stressful.

It is certainly hard to watch your child go through this all these years, and not be able to do as much as you would like to do for her.  The financial stress is hard to deal with on top of everything else.  Bethany has been a good mom and does all that she can for her kids.  I would be so grateful to anyone who could donate to Bethany and her family.  Even a small amount would help.  I would also be grateful if you could share this page with your friends and family.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.