A liver for Kim
Donation protected
My baby sister, Kim, at 49 years old, has end-stage decompensated liver disease and needs a liver transplant.
She is a mother to two children, Zack, who's in college for computer programming, and Jordan, who's currently overseas in Paraguay with the Peace Corps for two years.
Kim is a caretaker and housewife, getting her husband through stage 4 metastatic colon cancer (after 16 years he is in remission) and her mother, who passed in 2016 from urothelial cell carcinoma.
During those years Kim had turned to alcohol to get through the difficult times and was diagnosed with fatty liver disease in 2011, but with family health issues she put off seeking treatment. In 2015, she began to have hip pain and was evaluated for a hip transplant due to avascular necrosis, but it was discovered that her liver enzymes were unsafe for surgery. She worked on quitting drinking on her own and was improving by late 2018 when she had a serious bout of pneumonia with impaired kidney function and high ammonia levels and was given a matter of months to live. She pushed through it better than the doctors expected and in March of 2019 was able to quit drinking and smoking for good. Then in September of this year, she came down with pneumonia again, when it was finally discovered she urgently needs a liver transplant since bloodwork continues to be unstable without medical intervention.
As a recovering alcoholic, 7 months sober and smoke-free, Kim is committed to the addiction recovery program that will be one part of the support surrounding her which includes her husband John, her sisters, family, and loving friends as well as the fantastic doctors at Oregon Health & Science University, 275 miles from home.
On Halloween, Kim was approved to be on the liver transplant list and is back home in Medford until she is close to the top of the list.
Fortunately, they have insurance, but there are significant costs the insurance is not going to cover – most importantly, housing. Kim had to be transported over 200 miles from Medford to OHSU, and she'll need to live near the hospital for three months while rehabilitating post-transplant surgery. Her husband, who will be caring for her full time while she recovers, can use FMLA to protect his job while taking time off to care for her, but during this time he will not be drawing any income. They will still have expenses to pay for their permanent home while also having to pay for a temporary place to stay while they live near the hospital for those three months.
They're looking into their options for housing, and the hospital will help advise how they can, but no matter what, the family is going to need help to make it through this.
My name is Janet and I am Kim's oldest sister, I will be keeping the campaign updated and I appreciate your taking the time to read our story. Please share the campaign and we are grateful for donations. We hope more people will become organ donors and/or give blood or plasma. Thank you.
She is a mother to two children, Zack, who's in college for computer programming, and Jordan, who's currently overseas in Paraguay with the Peace Corps for two years.
Kim is a caretaker and housewife, getting her husband through stage 4 metastatic colon cancer (after 16 years he is in remission) and her mother, who passed in 2016 from urothelial cell carcinoma.
During those years Kim had turned to alcohol to get through the difficult times and was diagnosed with fatty liver disease in 2011, but with family health issues she put off seeking treatment. In 2015, she began to have hip pain and was evaluated for a hip transplant due to avascular necrosis, but it was discovered that her liver enzymes were unsafe for surgery. She worked on quitting drinking on her own and was improving by late 2018 when she had a serious bout of pneumonia with impaired kidney function and high ammonia levels and was given a matter of months to live. She pushed through it better than the doctors expected and in March of 2019 was able to quit drinking and smoking for good. Then in September of this year, she came down with pneumonia again, when it was finally discovered she urgently needs a liver transplant since bloodwork continues to be unstable without medical intervention.
As a recovering alcoholic, 7 months sober and smoke-free, Kim is committed to the addiction recovery program that will be one part of the support surrounding her which includes her husband John, her sisters, family, and loving friends as well as the fantastic doctors at Oregon Health & Science University, 275 miles from home.
On Halloween, Kim was approved to be on the liver transplant list and is back home in Medford until she is close to the top of the list.
Fortunately, they have insurance, but there are significant costs the insurance is not going to cover – most importantly, housing. Kim had to be transported over 200 miles from Medford to OHSU, and she'll need to live near the hospital for three months while rehabilitating post-transplant surgery. Her husband, who will be caring for her full time while she recovers, can use FMLA to protect his job while taking time off to care for her, but during this time he will not be drawing any income. They will still have expenses to pay for their permanent home while also having to pay for a temporary place to stay while they live near the hospital for those three months.
They're looking into their options for housing, and the hospital will help advise how they can, but no matter what, the family is going to need help to make it through this.
My name is Janet and I am Kim's oldest sister, I will be keeping the campaign updated and I appreciate your taking the time to read our story. Please share the campaign and we are grateful for donations. We hope more people will become organ donors and/or give blood or plasma. Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Janet Narva
Organizer
Salem, OR
Kim Rogers
Beneficiary