Caring for Kerry

As many of you know , our dear friend, Kerry Clarke, is facing a major health challenge.  Last March, after a seemingly routine physical Kerry got a phone call that would forever change the course of her life.

 Her doctor explained that there was a problem with her bloodwork and she needed to return to the lab right away.  After repeated bloodwork, the results were confirmed that there was an abnormality in Kerry’s kidney function tests. 

Kerry was referred to a nephrologist (kidney doctor) and underwent a battery of tests including:  two biopsies, ultrasound and more.  A second opinion at Yale New-Haven confirmed that Kerry had stage 4 kidney disease with a diagnosis of IgA Nephropathy. 

After receiving this shocking news, Kerry and her family were ready to take this on and wanted to know “how to fix” the problem.  The answer was not something anyone was prepared for!  She was told she would soon be in end stage kidney disease (kidney failure) and had two options: DIALYSIS or a KIDNEY TRANSPLANT.

At 39 years old, both options seemed overwhelming, leaving Kerry, her family, and family of friends in shock and disbelief.  Over the past year, the disease has progressed more quickly than expected and by the year’s end she went into kidney failure, or end stage kidney disease. 

In February, Kerry was admitted to Newport Hospital as her kidneys were going into failure.  She was severely anemic, and in rough shape.   An emergency port was installed, she was given a blood transfusion and started dialysis right away. 

Today, Kerry is on life-saving dialysis three times a week (15 hours a week) and has an external port that prohibits showering and swimming.  Although she appreciates this life-saving treatment, it is no way for a healthy, young, independent person to live.  Kerry is ready for a transplant! 

Soon after her diagnosis, Kerry and her family mobilized to find a living donor, meaning she had to find someone who was willing to give her one of their healthy kidneys.  Although she signed up for the national transplant list, it could take 6 years for her blood type (O )and the outcomes for living donation are more successful. 

Several of Kerry’s family and friends courageously stepped forward to undergo the testing process and one special donor rose to the top.  After 7 months of testing, Kerry and her donor believe an approval will happen any day now. 

As you can imagine, a kidney transplant and the after-care is extremely costly, even with insurance.  Friends and family have set up a transplant recovery fund, called “Caring for Kerry,” to help cover the out of pocket costs including high insurance deductibles, doctor visit co-pays, travel and lodging and costly life-long immunosuppressant prescription drugs.  In addition, Kerry will be out of work for at least 3 months and this fund will help offset the financial stress of being out of work so she can recover with as little financial stress as possible.  

Please help support our wonderful friend Kerry Clarke, who you all know has dedicated her own fund, The Peter Clarke Memorial to  help those in her community.  She is always there to help and support others and over the years has created a family of friends that would like to return the favor.  We are all praying and hoping that this courageous donor gets approved in the next month.  She will have several months of recovery and bed rest while she heals from the surgery.  Additionally, the bills associated with this procedure are very high.  We are coming together to raise funds to help offset these costs.  

***Please  note that we are also planning a fundraiser for Kerry in Jamestown on 6/11 .  Please click on the below links for more information and to purchase tickets.***

Facebook site for Fundraiser details

To purchase tickets to Caring for Kerry Fundraiser