Robert’s Kidney Transplant and Recovery Fund
After 7.5 long years, the magic of kidney transplant is becoming a reality for our beloved Robert, and it’s all thanks to our dear generous friend Kari Kirkland. We now have a surgery date firmly in place in October, and we’re planning for the expenses: flying Kari to Seattle for the donation, a place for her and a caregiver to stay, transportation during post-surgery recovery, the insurance deductibles/co-pays, and Robert’s time out of work for a few months during his recovery. We’re so grateful that you’re here reading and considering our request for help with this step of the journey. Any donation is greatly appreciated to help with these costs.
Robert has been on dialysis for nearly 8 years. Dialysis is a machine taking the place of a kidney. It means he spends about 5 hours a day, 3 days a week, hooked up in a clinic to clean his blood as much as possible. Unfortunately, not everything can be replaced with dialysis—real kidneys make red blood cells, filter fluids and make urine, balance electrolytes, and help with certain hormones and various other things. Dialysis only replaces some of this, and it’s also really brutal. It’s tough on his heart, his energy levels, and ability to work. There are tons of ups and downs where he feels suddenly weak for whole days, he can’t drink water, or eat a lot of kinds of fruits and vegetables. He has to take lots of medications to try to substitute some of the functions of an actual kidney. Dialysis is a life-saving treatment, but it's not a long-term solution.
After jumping through a ton of hoops, Robert was approved for the kidney transplant waiting list…but that list is more than 93,000 people long and generally takes many years. In February of this year, we were encouraged to reach out and try to find a living donor. We made an uncomfortable (oversharing) post to social media; Kari saw it and offered to get tested for a possible living donation. We now know that Robert and Kari share more than the common bond of being independent musicians. At nearly every turn of the wild ride of tests, we were shown proof of their uncanny match (secret siblings?!?!). Ultimately, the UW medical team has approved Kari as a living donor, and they are encouraged by the quality of the match between her and Robert.
Robert’s options are limited without a functioning kidney—either continue this hard path of dialysis for the rest of his life, or get a transplant. Dialysis continues to get less effective over time, and he’s likely to have a shorter life. Transplant is a chance to live a much longer and healthier life. We’re so immensely grateful and overwhelmed that Kari is offering him that gift of life.
Please keep Robert and Kari and their families in your thoughts as we embark on this journey, and we’ll keep you updated. Thank you to everyone who has been so giving of love and support over the years. We wouldn’t be where we are today without our incredible community.