
Living kidney Donor Expenses for Heather Zabicki
Doação protegida
Hello,
As many of you know, my husband Dan suffers from a genetic disease called ADPKD, and it’s been about a year since he went into kidney failure, requiring dialysis, and we began our search for a living donor.
Finding a living donor isn’t easy, as there are very strict criteria a donor must meet in order to be approved. This often involves months of testing and diagnostics before the donor is even considered. It takes a very selfless and committed person to go through the entire living organ donation process. Ultimately, it’s a huge ask on the recipient's end, and an even bigger give, on the donor's end. That being said, we are extremely fortunate and pleased to announce, that we now have an approved living donor.
Last November, I received a random text from my cousin Heather, who lived in Florida at the time, reassuring me not to worry, and that she was going to get tested in Tampa to see if she could donate. We remained cautiously optimistic and communicated regularly about where she was in the process. Ten months of testing, diagnostics, and many appointments later, she has officially been approved to be Dan’s living donor, and we received word last week that she and Dan have officially been entered into the NKR (National Kidney Registry Database,) so that a paired exchange kidney donation can occur. Even more unique to Heather donating for Dan, is that by doing so, she will ultimately be saving a stranger's life, who matches her kidney, in the process of getting Dan a kidney that directly matches him. She is the definition of a true-life hero, and her gift will go on to affect not only the recipients, but their family and friends too, as they will get to share more quality years with their loved ones.
Ironically, Heather and Dan go way back, and it only seems fitting that she would wind up being his angel, who saves his life through the living donor process. In additional to being my cousin, Heather and Dan have been friends for many years, and at one point, they were even roommates. Dan was even the best man at her wedding, and it was through family gatherings, that we eventually met. Additionally, she's the hardworking, single income parent of one adult son, Bradley, who also got tested to see if he was an eligible match for Dan, and a beautiful, teenage daughter, Emma. Heather is a very generous and giving person all around, often times, too generous.
When we ask Heather how we can support her through the living donor process, she continues to reassure us that she doesn't need anything and will work through it. We'd love to offer her, and we certainly owe her, our physical help during the recovery phase, but because it's a paired exchange, she and Dan are likely to be recovering at the same time, rendering our offer unrealistic. Therefore, our wish is to express our sincere gratitude for her gift of living donation, by ensuring that she does not incur any donor related expenses whatsoever. Many donor expenses are covered through our insurance, as well as donor shield programs, but there are always some left over, uncovered expenses for the donor. Whether those needs be donor related medical care, travel, meals, lost wages, snow removal, yard care, follow up appointments, etc., we want to ensure that she can rest at home comfortably while she recovers, and not have to worry about any financial burden that could occur from the living donor process.
Thank you all for your continued support. Again, we cannot express how grateful and fortunate we are to have friends and family so willing to get tested and offer assistance where needed. All proceeds will go directly to Heather Zabicki's living donor related expenses. Any unused donations will be donated to the PKD Foundation to help find a cure!
“Donating an organ is the greatest gift of all, for it breathes life into another’s world.” - Uknown
If you'd like to read more about Dan's story and why he needed a living kidney donor, the link is below:
Organizador e beneficiário
Lindsey Schiller
Organizador
Colebrookdale, PA
Heather Zabicki
Beneficiário