Bring Rafael home for kidney donation to eliminate dialysis

Brenda Alvarado organisiert diese Spendenaktion für Rafael Alvarado.

Spende geschützt

Hi everyone, my name is Brenda Alvarado, and I’m trying to raise funds for my dad, Rafael Alvarado. He desperately needs help. Those who have been following my story recently know that I was in a competition to win $25K to help my dad move back to NY, so I could donate a kidney to eliminate his dialysis suffering. Unfortunately, I made it very far in the free daily votes-based competition, but ultimately didn’t win the grand prize. I tried that option because initially, I was helping my dad financially, but I lost my job, and I haven’t started work yet because I have to care for my mother who just underwent surgery. A few people who were rooting for me to win that competition asked me why I haven’t tried GoFundMe. To answer that honestly, I was raised to be a very independent individual, so it’s been very hard to build up the courage to ask for help, especially publicly. The only reason I’m able to is because I don’t want to lose my dad! I’ll never know unless I try, so I’m hoping and praying this will help my dad in so many ways. Here are a few:

The main goal is to move my dad back to NY. He made the hardest decision to move to Arkansas for a more affordable/safe living situation for the kids. We didn’t know the struggles he would endure there. He’s a diabetic, but when they told him he had renal failure, his whole world came crashing down. To add insult to injury, he is also going through a divorce. He is alone, going through the hardest time in his life. I just want to bring him back to NY where he has more family and will have more support! Once he’s here, I’m willing to start the process of donating a kidney ASAP. I’ve already made major changes in my life in order to be healthier. It breaks my heart to hear how much he suffers from dialysis. I would do anything to eliminate that.
He had Medicaid in NY but can’t get approved in Arkansas. His insurance only covers so much as he attends dialysis 3x a week for 3/4 hrs each time. He had received a letter stating that he owes 7k. We can’t afford for them to stop treatment, so this would be a major use of the funds.
He is grateful that they offer transportation to/from dialysis on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but they don’t on Saturdays. When he’s done with dialysis around 1 pm, he feels very weak, nauseous, and always has a tormenting headache. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, transportation sometimes has him waiting an hour and a half when he’s very ill, wishing for the comfort of his bed. He doesn’t start to feel better until around 10 pm on dialysis days; that’s about 9 hours of torture. Last time, while walking towards his ride, he passed out and hurt his body from the fall. We would use some of the funds to pay for Uber rides weekly instead.
He’s also behind on bills, so he’d use some of the funds so services won’t be cut off. He doesn’t get much sleep at night stressing out. It was sad to hear that for my sister’s birthday, he didn’t even have enough to buy her a cake, so he had to borrow from a neighbor.
I was helping out financially and also sending groceries through Walmart+ to help fill up the fridge, so the kids, my dad, my sister’s cat “Kitty,” and my brother’s dog “Luca” could have food in their bellies. My dad could only afford beans, but sometimes the kids would get picky, and we try not to involve the kids in adult issues, so I took action. I wanted them to have a variety of greens and other healthy alternatives since they are growing into teenagers and going through puberty. Once I lost my job, I couldn’t afford to do this as often as I would love to. Even if everyone who comes across this would donate $1, it would accumulate and help out substantially.
Lastly, the kids are starting school next month, August 11th. They’re going to need school supplies. They’re going to need new clothes as well since they’re growing. They’re very well-behaved and smart kids. I really hope the divorce doesn’t affect their grades. My brother has been in a Gifted and Talented class from 2nd-7th (this past school year) and also took Pre-ACT prep this past school year. This summer, he built his own computer, which he really enjoyed, so he chose computer science as an elective this upcoming school year.

A little background on my dad… He’s had a really rough life since he was a kid. He never got the chance to go to school because, growing up in poverty, he had to work since the age of 7 back in El Salvador. He came to this country during war times in El Salvador, hoping to escape the violence and to start a better life. He became a citizen and worked very hard. Unfortunately, at his landscaping job, he got injured. This led to 4 different back surgeries. By the grace of God, my dad is able to walk! Then, he was diagnosed with diabetes. In 2016, while I was away at school, he was hit by a car as he was crossing the street. When my brother showed up at the hospital, he told me my dad was in a full body cast; he had lost consciousness, but luckily he survived! From this incident, my dad’s foot was severely fractured, and he underwent a shoulder surgery. Now, he’s suffering from renal failure and dialysis. The suffering makes him want to cry, and that’s not like my dad, so I know this is the hardest time of his entire life, but he wants to live! He has heard success stories from people who have gotten kidney transplants. It’s our dream to make this a possibility for him! It would be such an honor if I could make this dream come true with your help, of course.

If you know my dad, you know he’d give the shirt off his back to help someone. If he’s ever given you anything—money, a meal, a piece of advice, or did you a favor—now is the time where you can help him out. He desperately needs help. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. If there’s anyone who could donate $10, $20, $25, or $50, it would be a huge help in getting some bills covered, which is the most stressful for my dad on top of his health issues. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all of this. If you can’t donate, can you please at least share, so maybe this can reach someone who might be able to?