We can't believe we are here and that it has come to this. I didn't know something like this existed. After reading the many stories and lives that have been helped or changed it brought tears to my eyes and I feel a little better about posting this.                   We are the Issa Family: Shobi (37), Janet (36), and  Samuel "Sammy" (15). Sammy is our intelligent, handsome, funny, and charismatic son who says one of his dreams is to go to MIT.                    In 2011, when Sammy was seven years old, he was diagnosed with Pediatric Sarcoidosis, a rare multi-organ autoimmune disease that has no cure. Since the diagnosis, the disease has affected his eyes and liver.  Unfortunately the different treatments Sammy has had over the years haven't put the illness into remission like the doctors hoped it would. In the past year, it has wreaked havoc on his kidneys to the point where he now needs dialysis three times a week in order to survive.                                      The past two years have been the hardest for our family.  After 12 years of working for a nonprofit organization, I was laid off.  As a result, I lost my health insurance. At the time, Sammy was getting Remicaid infusions that were very costly. We were also trying other medications/alternatives because of the different drug interactions.                     Then, this past October 24, the nurse at Sammy's school noticed he looked weak while walking to his first-period class. She let us know and we took him to the doctor. The weakness turned out to be the result of high blood pressure due to calcium deposits and scar tissue building up on his kidneys, as well as shrinking of his kidneys. Sammy was admitted to Children's Medical Center. He is now in his fourth week of dialysis treatments to filter his blood of toxins that the kidneys can no longer filter out. We've been at the hospital since Sammy was admitted.                      I mentioned that my husband and I both lost our jobs. The good news is that I went back to work, but it was a contract job that did not provide health insurance coverage. While I worked, my husband managed things with Sammy as a result of all his medical needs. But unfortunately, my contract just ended during this hospital stay and now we are both out of work again. As a result, we are turning to you, hoping you will find compassion in your heart concerning our situation. Please know that we are just trying to raise our son and give him a good life.                                        It's not like we didn't turn to our family first, but our parents are not wealthy.  My parents are career officers in The Salvation Army and they don't make much money. My husband's parents are both over 75 years old. My mother-in-law even sold her 40 year old  jewelry set  to get money to help us. We don't know what we will do or what will happen to our family. We have maxed out credit cards. We amassed a lot of medical bills. We're behind on our car payments, utility bills, and loans. We won't be able to pay December's rent by the 3rd of the month. We at great risk of being evicted.                        We want Sammy to have a home to go to  and stability when he gets out of the hospital. We will also have increased grocery bills because of the new extremely restrictive hemodialysis diet that Sammy must now adhere to. Having a catheter surgically implanted in Sammy's chest also means we will need to purchase the cleaning supplies for it and extra laundry soap so his bed linens can be washed daily. An infection could go straight to his heart. We could get him some extra bed sheets, but we can't afford it. We really only have one set of sheets for his bed.                         We have never done this before and truly do not want to live off of other people's  donations.  Thank you for considering giving us some help and listening to our story.