My nephew, Jacob, was admitted to the hospital on February 1st with kidney failure.

After suffering from what seemed like a bad stomach bug for a couple of days, Jacob went to urgent care. At urgent care, Jacob's blood pressure was extremely high and he was sent to the ER. After several hours of high blood pressure readings and a bunch of blood work showing very abnormal kidney blood levels, he was admitted to WakeMed Cary where he spent the past 11 days. Jacob was treated for high blood pressure and eventually began dialysis to improve his condition. He also underwent a kidney biopsy to determine the cause of his kidney failure.

Through this testing, we learned Jacob's kidney failure has caused significant lasting damage to his kidneys and he will require ongoing dialysis. His diagnosis is chronic kidney failure and there is no treatment that will reverse the damage. It is likely we will never know the reason for the damage and it could have been related to something as simple as a viral illness.

Jacob was released from the hospital on Saturday, Feb. 11th and will begin ongoing dialysis (3x per week) at a local clinic. He will soon start the process of being evaluated for a kidney transplant. Jacob's blood markers and blood pressure have all improved - and although not in the normal range they are much better than they were a week ago.

As you can imagine, this has been a lot for him, his wife, Brooke and our entire family to process. Along with trying to navigate all the new life changes this will create, this is also going to be a really hard financial hit on them as a young married couple. With medical bills piling up and with him not being able to work, I can't imagine what a struggle this will be for them.

Any help you can give financially would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping that If we can lessen this financial burden just a little, it will allow them to focus on his health and navigating this new life forward. Prayers are also always appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any amount you can donate. No amount is too small.

Margie