Kidney Transplant
Donation protected
Hi my name is Brandy and this is for my husband, Shawn. He is 28 years old and in end stage renal failure. I'm starting this Go Fund Me account to help us with the cost of his medications and other expenses that may arrise, for the process of a kidney transplant. Let me give you some back story.
As a young child, Shawn developed Reflux Nephropathy which damaged his kidneys. So as he got older and his body grew, his kidneys didn't. This means his kidneys couldn't handle filtering all the toxins through his body. He was able to go through the early part of his life relatively unaffected, Until his early 20's, when symptoms began. He was handling the symptoms okay at first. It was mainly his energy levels that were affected. He didn't have much energy at all, but enough to work part-time and still have a bit of a life. Though after awhile, his energy levels starting dropping as well, and he could no longer work.
We went through some home changes, and found him a new nephrologist to start keeping an eye on his stats. About 6 months later he was at the point where he needed a kidney transplant, and until a transplant could happen he needed dialysis.
He went in through the ER to begin the process of getting a temporary dialysis port put in his chest. Unfortunately, due to not having any insurance, Shawn wasn't allowed to leave the hospital, and was stuck there for 45 days. That's how long it took to be accepted by Medicaid, so that he had insurance, so that the hospital could release him. Yeah, it wasn't fun. I made it work though. I stopped by the hospital everyday after work to have dinner with Shawn, then when home and did it all over again the next day.
Finally, Shawn was released from the hospital and had started his dialysis through Davita dialysis center. Yay, he's out of the hospital, but he still has no energy. Hemo dialysis filters the toxins out of your body, through your blood. He would sit in a chair for 3 and half hours, 3 days a week. Hey, it was keeping him alive, so he didn't complain....much, lol. He'd settled into a nice routine though.
Then, a few months later, he got sick. We went back to the ER and found that he had got an infection. Yay, more hospital time. He had surgery to remove his temporary dialysis port, so that the infection didn't have easy access to his heart, and had a super temporary port put in his neck (yes, super temporary port is the actual name :P). At least this time he was only in the hospital for a few days. That was a breeze compared to his last stint.
About a month and a half later and he was back in the hospital. The super temporary port was removed from his neck, a temporary port was put back in his chest, and the peritoneal port was put in his stomach. Whew, that was a lot. He didn't feel so good for a few days after that one. Still though, all necessary steps on the track to being healthy.
Its been quite a few months since then, and he is feeling so much better. He is now solely on Peritoneal Dialysis at home. Peritoneal Dialysis filters the toxins out of your body through a solution that sits in your abdomen, via osmosis. Kind of neat actually. He was doing manual exchanges, which means he would drain the fluid from his abdomen and refill every 4 hours; 4 times a day. It was a little inconvenient, but still necessary steps, and well worth the inconvenience for finally having energy. Even better, about a month ago he got his Cycler. This is a machine that does his exchanges for him, all while he sleeps. Which gives him more freedom during the day.
The next step is a kidney transplant. Shawn's currently inactive on the transplant list at Tampa General Hospital. His case is currently in a kind of limbo. Its ready to be presented to the board, who must approve him in order to switch to active on the list, but there are lots of people out there who need a transplant. So we are currently waiting. Its a lengthy process, but once again more than worth it. The transplant however, is why we've started a Go Fund Me. Though his insurance will cover most of the transplant process, eventually we will have to pay for medications, either fully or copays depending on his insurance situation come that time. Medication is expensive. We all know that. One of the medications he'll need to take for at least 6 months can cost up to $5,000 for a 30 day supply. That's $30,000 for just one of the medications. After a transplant though, he could be on about 45 different medications, for 3 - 6 months, depending on how I'm recovering. There is just no way that we could afford that in this lifetime. Most people can't. We aren't too proud to say that help is needed.
What else can I say? My husband is an easy-going guy who really knows how to enjoy the little things in life. We've been married for 3 weeks now, and couldn't be happier. We're obviously anxious about him one day receiving a new kidney, but until then are taking life day by day.
As a young child, Shawn developed Reflux Nephropathy which damaged his kidneys. So as he got older and his body grew, his kidneys didn't. This means his kidneys couldn't handle filtering all the toxins through his body. He was able to go through the early part of his life relatively unaffected, Until his early 20's, when symptoms began. He was handling the symptoms okay at first. It was mainly his energy levels that were affected. He didn't have much energy at all, but enough to work part-time and still have a bit of a life. Though after awhile, his energy levels starting dropping as well, and he could no longer work.
We went through some home changes, and found him a new nephrologist to start keeping an eye on his stats. About 6 months later he was at the point where he needed a kidney transplant, and until a transplant could happen he needed dialysis.
He went in through the ER to begin the process of getting a temporary dialysis port put in his chest. Unfortunately, due to not having any insurance, Shawn wasn't allowed to leave the hospital, and was stuck there for 45 days. That's how long it took to be accepted by Medicaid, so that he had insurance, so that the hospital could release him. Yeah, it wasn't fun. I made it work though. I stopped by the hospital everyday after work to have dinner with Shawn, then when home and did it all over again the next day.
Finally, Shawn was released from the hospital and had started his dialysis through Davita dialysis center. Yay, he's out of the hospital, but he still has no energy. Hemo dialysis filters the toxins out of your body, through your blood. He would sit in a chair for 3 and half hours, 3 days a week. Hey, it was keeping him alive, so he didn't complain....much, lol. He'd settled into a nice routine though.
Then, a few months later, he got sick. We went back to the ER and found that he had got an infection. Yay, more hospital time. He had surgery to remove his temporary dialysis port, so that the infection didn't have easy access to his heart, and had a super temporary port put in his neck (yes, super temporary port is the actual name :P). At least this time he was only in the hospital for a few days. That was a breeze compared to his last stint.
About a month and a half later and he was back in the hospital. The super temporary port was removed from his neck, a temporary port was put back in his chest, and the peritoneal port was put in his stomach. Whew, that was a lot. He didn't feel so good for a few days after that one. Still though, all necessary steps on the track to being healthy.
Its been quite a few months since then, and he is feeling so much better. He is now solely on Peritoneal Dialysis at home. Peritoneal Dialysis filters the toxins out of your body through a solution that sits in your abdomen, via osmosis. Kind of neat actually. He was doing manual exchanges, which means he would drain the fluid from his abdomen and refill every 4 hours; 4 times a day. It was a little inconvenient, but still necessary steps, and well worth the inconvenience for finally having energy. Even better, about a month ago he got his Cycler. This is a machine that does his exchanges for him, all while he sleeps. Which gives him more freedom during the day.
The next step is a kidney transplant. Shawn's currently inactive on the transplant list at Tampa General Hospital. His case is currently in a kind of limbo. Its ready to be presented to the board, who must approve him in order to switch to active on the list, but there are lots of people out there who need a transplant. So we are currently waiting. Its a lengthy process, but once again more than worth it. The transplant however, is why we've started a Go Fund Me. Though his insurance will cover most of the transplant process, eventually we will have to pay for medications, either fully or copays depending on his insurance situation come that time. Medication is expensive. We all know that. One of the medications he'll need to take for at least 6 months can cost up to $5,000 for a 30 day supply. That's $30,000 for just one of the medications. After a transplant though, he could be on about 45 different medications, for 3 - 6 months, depending on how I'm recovering. There is just no way that we could afford that in this lifetime. Most people can't. We aren't too proud to say that help is needed.
What else can I say? My husband is an easy-going guy who really knows how to enjoy the little things in life. We've been married for 3 weeks now, and couldn't be happier. We're obviously anxious about him one day receiving a new kidney, but until then are taking life day by day.
Organizer and beneficiary
Brandy Harrell
Organizer
Riverview, FL
Shawn Connelly
Beneficiary