Chuck's Kidney Transplant Support

After two years on dialysis, Charles Jurries (or as you may know him - Chuck or Charlie) is getting a new kidney!

Chuck was diagnosed with kidney failure 2.5 years ago. He was able to be on peritoneal dialysis at home (10 hours every night) for about a year but was switched over to hemodialysis last year. He now drives to a clinic three days a week, where he dialyzes for 5 hours at a time. After dialysis, he goes to work as a manager at the Grandville Russ’ Restaurant.

His wonderful friend Andy wanted to give Chuck one of his kidneys, but they were not a good “match”. Regardless, in January Andy went ahead with the donation of his kidney (to a stranger!); this remarkably selfless act pushed Chuck toward the top of the living donor list on the National Kidney Registry. A couple of weeks ago, Chuck received the call we’d been praying for – they found a match!!! At this point, we do not know who the donor is or where they live (Andy’s kidney went to someone in Colorado). Surgery is scheduled for March 28 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.

Chuck will be in the hospital for several days and will be off work for about a month.

Money is the last thing he needs to worry about right now, so to help ease the burden of the expenses that Chuck will incur after surgery (hospitalization bills and very expensive anti-rejection drugs) and during his recovery, we have established this GoFundMe account.

Regardless of whether you can contribute, we would so appreciate your prayers on behalf of our much-loved Chuck, as well as his donor.