Candace's Kidney Transplant Fund

My name is Skye Cortese. I am 30 years old and live in Atlanta, Georgia.  My best friend is Candace Staten (right).  She is in need of a kidney transplant.  She was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2002.  Her original kidney failure was caused by a doctor prescribing her too high of a dose of Ibuprofen after she was in a car accident.  Candace’s first kidney transplant was in 2005, from her father.  He died later that year due to complications from a brain aneurysm.  The kidney from her father lasted 8 years before ultimately failing.  Since 2012, Candace has been in the ICU for complications relating to a bleed in the brain, hospitalized over a dozen times, and had over 14 inpatient and outpatient surgeries. Through it all, she continues to have a positive attitude and a smile on her face. She has been on dialysis again for the past two years but has had complications with infection.  Her doctors believe the best treatment for her is to have another kidney transplant from a living donor.  In October 2014, Candace was approved to have her kidney transplant at the Georgia Regents Transplant Program in Augusta, Georgia.  This facility is 2.5 hours from where she lives in Atlanta, and she will need to make weekly trips for doctors’ visits following the transplant.  The cost of medications and expenses for a kidney transplant for the first two years will be over $10,000. (Each year requires: $3,500 insurance premiums, at least $1,500 out of pocket medication expenses per year.) Right now, Candace works part time and is unable earn the money needed towards medication costs and insurance premiums. A savings goal is required part of the kidney transplant program at Georgia Regents and this fund is to assist her with costs related to having a kidney transplant.  No donation is to small, even if you are not able to make a donation, please feel free to share Candace’s story with others. Thank you.