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Almost 4 years ago, I, Bob Harrell, was unexpectedly diagnosed with ESRD - a acronym for a disease many have never hear of. ESRD stands for “End Stage Renal Disease” in layman’s terms - kidney failure.
After months of not feeling myself and many many tests trying to determine the cause of my discomfort it was finally discovered in late July 2015. I was immediately sent to the emergency room and the next few days were, asI put it, “It was like living outside your own body and watching in disbelief as your health goes from what you thought was okay to terrible in a matter of hours.”
I am 65 years old now and receive treatment three days a week for 3-½ hours at a clinic, I still working full time in the industry I love: retail hardware. For more than 35 years,I have worked in the hardware business. Fortunately for me, when this happened I was working in the back offices of the operation and having been with the same family owned operation for so many years, ownership has been flexible and allowed me the freedom to have my treatments weekly and still work full time. Being in a retail trade as long as I have means helping a lot of people over the years solve their daily issues. Now I am reaching out for help to cover the financial burden this disease has created for him and our mom.
The next few paragraph are from my 3 daughters:
Our dad is a proud man from a generation that believes in hard work, so the most difficult part of this perhaps has been for him to accept the fact that he needs financial help. He and mom have, in less than four years, spent their modest life’s savings tackling, directly and indirectly, this disease. Travel to and from dialysis, monthly clinic visits, many items not covered by insurance and additional medication have all contributed to the expense.
He has worked towards being listed on the transplant list for two years. There are many tests that one must clear before being listed. After a few hurdles related to his kidney failure, such as heart and prostate complications, he has hopefully , as of December of this year (2018), accomplished that goal. Although Medicare and supplemental insurance will cover the initial transplant, there will be many trips of over 200 miles to the transplant hospital after the transplant for up to eight weeks, some weeks twice a week. Additional costs would be hotel rooms for mom after the transplant and medications such as anti rejection meds that dad will have to take the rest of his life. Unfortunately, some of these meds can be very expensive.
Soon things will be set in motion to do a transplant, hopefully sooner than later, as a transplant can happen at anytime once you are on the list. Thus, we are reaching out via the internet in hopes of raising funds to help our dad and mom financially. One can image the stress related to all of this, as it is almost like a train coming at you out of the dark. We would like for our dad to spend his retirement years without the added stress of a financial burden.
Bottom line is that we desperately need your help to support our dad and mom. As we mentioned above, he is a very proud man that has shouldered all of this along with the support of his family and close friends over almost 4 years now. He has maintained a positive attitude through it all, regardless of the financial challenges.
Please know that our dad, Bob, feels fortunate to have a solution to his medical condition, something he talks about it openly because he understands that those diagnosed with terminal illnesses don't have similar life sustaining options that he has been given. For that he is eternally grateful, but the cost is crippling to his emotions and his nerves so we have taken this step with his approval to reach out and ask for monetary assistance.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and please know any and all donations are greatly appreciated and will go to help this cause.
Of course, the only way this will work is by spreading the word and it would mean the world to us if you partake in sharing our father’s need to raise money.
Thank you, the Harrell family
After months of not feeling myself and many many tests trying to determine the cause of my discomfort it was finally discovered in late July 2015. I was immediately sent to the emergency room and the next few days were, asI put it, “It was like living outside your own body and watching in disbelief as your health goes from what you thought was okay to terrible in a matter of hours.”
I am 65 years old now and receive treatment three days a week for 3-½ hours at a clinic, I still working full time in the industry I love: retail hardware. For more than 35 years,I have worked in the hardware business. Fortunately for me, when this happened I was working in the back offices of the operation and having been with the same family owned operation for so many years, ownership has been flexible and allowed me the freedom to have my treatments weekly and still work full time. Being in a retail trade as long as I have means helping a lot of people over the years solve their daily issues. Now I am reaching out for help to cover the financial burden this disease has created for him and our mom.
The next few paragraph are from my 3 daughters:
Our dad is a proud man from a generation that believes in hard work, so the most difficult part of this perhaps has been for him to accept the fact that he needs financial help. He and mom have, in less than four years, spent their modest life’s savings tackling, directly and indirectly, this disease. Travel to and from dialysis, monthly clinic visits, many items not covered by insurance and additional medication have all contributed to the expense.
He has worked towards being listed on the transplant list for two years. There are many tests that one must clear before being listed. After a few hurdles related to his kidney failure, such as heart and prostate complications, he has hopefully , as of December of this year (2018), accomplished that goal. Although Medicare and supplemental insurance will cover the initial transplant, there will be many trips of over 200 miles to the transplant hospital after the transplant for up to eight weeks, some weeks twice a week. Additional costs would be hotel rooms for mom after the transplant and medications such as anti rejection meds that dad will have to take the rest of his life. Unfortunately, some of these meds can be very expensive.
Soon things will be set in motion to do a transplant, hopefully sooner than later, as a transplant can happen at anytime once you are on the list. Thus, we are reaching out via the internet in hopes of raising funds to help our dad and mom financially. One can image the stress related to all of this, as it is almost like a train coming at you out of the dark. We would like for our dad to spend his retirement years without the added stress of a financial burden.
Bottom line is that we desperately need your help to support our dad and mom. As we mentioned above, he is a very proud man that has shouldered all of this along with the support of his family and close friends over almost 4 years now. He has maintained a positive attitude through it all, regardless of the financial challenges.
Please know that our dad, Bob, feels fortunate to have a solution to his medical condition, something he talks about it openly because he understands that those diagnosed with terminal illnesses don't have similar life sustaining options that he has been given. For that he is eternally grateful, but the cost is crippling to his emotions and his nerves so we have taken this step with his approval to reach out and ask for monetary assistance.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and please know any and all donations are greatly appreciated and will go to help this cause.
Of course, the only way this will work is by spreading the word and it would mean the world to us if you partake in sharing our father’s need to raise money.
Thank you, the Harrell family