Donor For Debbie
Donation protected
As many of you know, Debbie (Markowski) Lanagan is in search of a kidney donor <<details below>>
In the meantime, and by request from many of you!, we want to start fundraising for the expenses that she and her family will need to continue to pay while she is out of work and/or any medical or other bills that will require attention . The specific time of need could come when she starts dialysis very soon, when she finds a donor and has her transplant...or any time in between.
We thank you ALL for the support that you have given Debbie and her family so far! The outreach has been a huge help in keeping spirits up, spreading awareness for her need, and reconnecting old friends.
Thank you for your continued support! Please feel free to donate here, and we will share any information that we have as far as updates, in-person fundraisers that we are planning, and anything else that might be helpful.
We WILL find Debbie a kidney!!
Love,
Debbie and her support team!
Visit Debbie's Facebook page here!
<<Debbie's Story>>
Hi everyone. My name is Debbie (Markowski) Lanagan, and I am 37 years old. I'm currently in need of a kidney transplant, and I'm looking for a living kidney donor.
I have been married to my husband, Rick, for 12 years and together we have two beautiful children. Hannah who is 10 years old and Matthew who is 17 months.
All of my life I knew that Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) ran in my family. When I shared this at a routine doctor visit in 2001, my doctor advised me to schedule some tests, and I did. A week before my 21st birthday, I was diagnosed with PKD. I knew I would ultimately need a kidney transplant at some point in my later years, having watched my mother live with the disease and require a kidney at age 54 after 3 years of dialysis.
I met my husband Rick in 2002, and we were married in 2005. We had our first child Hannah, in 2007, with no complications. I was managing the disease with blood pressure medication, and checking in with the nephrologist every 3-5 years.
In 2016, I was pregnant with my second child, Matthew. The pregnancy was very difficult, resulting in bed rest for many months. At 30 weeks, he was delivered, due to severe pre-eclampsia. While Matthew grew stronger in the NICU, I was being informed that I was in end stage renal disease (kidney failure). While the doctors were hopeful that my numbers would rebound, ultimately they never did. After six weeks post-delivery, there was still no progress.
I was now seeing the nephrologist every two months for testing, and my creatinine levels were not getting any better (my kidneys were not filtering waste as they should). In August of 2017 the doctor advised me it was time to start thinking about getting on the transplant list, and in October I met with the transplant team for the first time. Sitting in the conference room listening and watching and learning…things became frighteningly real. I had so many questions about my family, my job, my life and started asking myself “Who will take care of my children?”. I knew I would be facing this at some point in my life, but I never expected to be here at 38.
And now I need your help…spreading awareness, finding a kidney, and helping me find my way to a healthier life!
There is an amazing swap program that exists at the hospital, and you do not even have to be a direct match for me! If you are interested in being a donor, please call the Living Donor coordinators at Hartford Hospital: Kari at [phone redacted] OR Azzy at [phone redacted].
Please call today, or pass along the information to someone you know.
Thank you for your support!
@DonorForDebbie #donorfordebbie
In the meantime, and by request from many of you!, we want to start fundraising for the expenses that she and her family will need to continue to pay while she is out of work and/or any medical or other bills that will require attention . The specific time of need could come when she starts dialysis very soon, when she finds a donor and has her transplant...or any time in between.
We thank you ALL for the support that you have given Debbie and her family so far! The outreach has been a huge help in keeping spirits up, spreading awareness for her need, and reconnecting old friends.
Thank you for your continued support! Please feel free to donate here, and we will share any information that we have as far as updates, in-person fundraisers that we are planning, and anything else that might be helpful.
We WILL find Debbie a kidney!!
Love, Debbie and her support team!
Visit Debbie's Facebook page here!
<<Debbie's Story>>
Hi everyone. My name is Debbie (Markowski) Lanagan, and I am 37 years old. I'm currently in need of a kidney transplant, and I'm looking for a living kidney donor.
I have been married to my husband, Rick, for 12 years and together we have two beautiful children. Hannah who is 10 years old and Matthew who is 17 months.
All of my life I knew that Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) ran in my family. When I shared this at a routine doctor visit in 2001, my doctor advised me to schedule some tests, and I did. A week before my 21st birthday, I was diagnosed with PKD. I knew I would ultimately need a kidney transplant at some point in my later years, having watched my mother live with the disease and require a kidney at age 54 after 3 years of dialysis.
I met my husband Rick in 2002, and we were married in 2005. We had our first child Hannah, in 2007, with no complications. I was managing the disease with blood pressure medication, and checking in with the nephrologist every 3-5 years.
In 2016, I was pregnant with my second child, Matthew. The pregnancy was very difficult, resulting in bed rest for many months. At 30 weeks, he was delivered, due to severe pre-eclampsia. While Matthew grew stronger in the NICU, I was being informed that I was in end stage renal disease (kidney failure). While the doctors were hopeful that my numbers would rebound, ultimately they never did. After six weeks post-delivery, there was still no progress.
I was now seeing the nephrologist every two months for testing, and my creatinine levels were not getting any better (my kidneys were not filtering waste as they should). In August of 2017 the doctor advised me it was time to start thinking about getting on the transplant list, and in October I met with the transplant team for the first time. Sitting in the conference room listening and watching and learning…things became frighteningly real. I had so many questions about my family, my job, my life and started asking myself “Who will take care of my children?”. I knew I would be facing this at some point in my life, but I never expected to be here at 38.
And now I need your help…spreading awareness, finding a kidney, and helping me find my way to a healthier life!
There is an amazing swap program that exists at the hospital, and you do not even have to be a direct match for me! If you are interested in being a donor, please call the Living Donor coordinators at Hartford Hospital: Kari at [phone redacted] OR Azzy at [phone redacted].
Please call today, or pass along the information to someone you know.
Thank you for your support!
@DonorForDebbie #donorfordebbie
Organizer
Erin Concepcion
Organizer
Hartford, CT
