Help Keith cover emergency medical expenses

Keith is a well-loved community leader who has dedicated his life to the service of others. He has always known what he wanted to do with his life, help young people. For the last 21 years, Keith’s passion and vision for helping these young people have never waned. Keith built a training and consulting company called Telios Training Solutions so that he could reach and teach more young people throughout the country. Keith has taught, mentored, and supported thousands of youth who've gone through the foster care and juvenile justice system. In addition to this Keith has worked as a nonprofit consultant and executive coach assisting other nonprofits that are helping at-risk, underserved, and underrepresented kids and their families.What most people never knew was that as Keith’s contribution to the local community grew, his overall health was declining. He had unexplained swelling in his lower extremities, constant nausea, chronic fatigue, and inexplicable body aches and pains. It wasn’t until 2016, at age 44 that Keith discovered he had inherited the same kidney problems that led to the untimely death of both his father and his uncle 10 years earlier. Keith had developed a severe case of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Keith’s undiagnosed condition had caused his kidney function to decline to less than 10%. It was only after several months of serious illness that his doctors referred him to see a nephrologist. This was the first time that he understood how serious his health condition had become. His nephrologist told Keith that his life was in danger and that if he didn't start dialysis soon he would not make it through the end of the year.Keith and his wife were trained so they could do hemodialysis at home and they began his first dialysis treatment in December of 2016. Keith does dialysis 4-5 times a week, each session requiring 5 hours per treatment. More than four years later Keith is finally on the verge of getting a transplant. In Nov of 2019, he was listed at UCSD and a friend volunteered to be a living donor. Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic in 2020, all of Keith’s dreams for a transplant came to a screeching halt. While waiting for transplant centers to reopen to patients and their donors Keith continued to suffer from serious side effects caused by several years of dialysis treatment. This ultimately led to multiple hospitalizations and 10 vascular surgeries over the last 12 months.Now Keith is in the process of being transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. After being listed there Keith’s doctors are hopeful that he can be transplanted within a few months. He is still looking for a living donor but is also in need of financial support very soon. Your donation will help cover travel expenses, room and board, and lost wages for both Keith and his wife Melinda since she will need to accompany him as his caregiver throughout recovery. Your financial gifts will also help cover his medical expenses pre/post-transplant, including private insurance premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses, and their regular monthly bills while both Keith and his wife are unable to work for 3 months during his recovery. After the transplant, all Keith’s health and disability benefits will be discontinued. Your financial support will help Keith and his family until he is back on his feet and able to work again full-time.