Dan's New Kidney

At 4:00 am, June 22, Dan received a life-changing phone call. There was a kidney available, and he needed to get to Baylor All Saints Hospital in Ft. Worth as quickly as possible. He, and his wife of over 40 years, Renee, jumped out of bed and readied themselves to make the 90-mile trip from their home to the Ft. Worth hospital. Following the preliminaries, Dan was wheeled into surgery. The transplant surgery went smoothly and, according to Renee, “the surgeon came out smiling.” Dan’s successful kidney transplant is nothing short of a miracle for Dan and his loving family: his wife, two daughters, a son-in-law,  two young grandsons, a son and a daughter-in-law.



Dan, a Marine veteran, has lived 29 years with declining kidney function due to chronic kidney disease. He was placed on the transplant list 5 1/2 years ago. For the past 18 months, Dan has needed dialysis three times a week. He has been unable to work due to this disease and side effects of dialysis.

Transplants bring years of health to recipients, but surgery is expensive and, therefore, also brings financial hardship. While insurance covers most of the surgery expenses at Baylor All Saints, their portion is still huge. In addition, they have many other financial obligations ahead. These include lodging in Ft. Worth for clinic visits, daily for the first month, and then travel costs as the clinic visits are scheduled three times a week, then weekly and later monthly for post-transplant follow up. In their absence from home, there will be expenses for house maintenance.

Dan and Renee have been good friends of ours for many years, always willing to help. They generously give to others, for example; donating to my son's GoFundMe campaign for a trip to India to help underprivileged kids and participating in a Purple Stride Walk for a mutual friend with pancreatic cancer. 



Now, they need our help. The intention of this Go FundMe campaign is to reach out to Dan and Renee’s many friends, to their church communities of Resurrection Lutheran Church and First United Methodist Church of Tom Bean, and from a variety of other areas in which they have been active. It is never easy to ask for financial assistance, but every dollar of support is greatly and deeply appreciated by Dan’s family.

If you are unable to contribute financially, you can still help by sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter, email, and other preferred social media. And, of course, please pray for Dan as he works towards full recovery and for Renee as she provides ever-present support.


Thank you,

Barbara Klier and Kelli Klier Ebel