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Help Layla "Share Her Spare"

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Layla stepped up to “share her spare” kidney with her friend, Lourie, who urgently needs a kidney transplant. Could you please donate now to help this amazing and selfless young woman complete the rest of her life-saving gift?

To tell you how this all began, Lourie was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) in 2005. Then her left kidney began to fail due to recurring infections, and had to be removed. Now, her right kidney is severely compromised due to the progression of PKD, and has begun to fail.  (For Lourie's story, you can visit her FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/kidneyforlourie/.)
 
Lourie is on the National Transplant list, but due to her blood type the expected wait for a kidney is 5-7 years, and her right kidney will not last that long.  As a result, Lourie has been searching for a Living Donor for a transplant for the last couple of years.  Lourie (and her family) have been on quite the roller-coaster throughout her fight with PKD. In the past 6 months, the "ride" has gotten really crazy, for her, her family, and for Layla!

Layla, an accomplished equestrian, has known Lourie and her family since she and Elizabeth, Lourie’s daughter, met as young girls just starting out riding reining horses in competition at horse shows. Layla and Elizabeth became immediate friends, as did Lourie and Layla's mom, and they all have stayed close ever since.  When Layla found out Lourie was eligible for a living kidney donor, she immediately went for testing to see if she was the rare match Lourie needed.  Amazingly, she was!

So, Layla went through the donor evaluation at Duke Health, which is who had been assisting Lourie at that time in her transplant search; Layla passed the eval with perfect health, their case was approved by the transplant committee, and in October their surgeries were scheduled for December 7th, 2017.  One week after their surgeries were scheduled, however, Lourie and Layla received a devastating phone call; their surgeries were cancelled because Layla has multiple renal arteries, which complicates the transplant process. 

Undaunted, Layla and Kit (Lourie’s husband) quickly began discussing options for a second opinion.  Kit found the University of Maryland Medical Center's Dr. Bartlett, and they started the transplant evaluation process all over again on December 13. (Dr. Bartlett specializes in transplants with multiple renal arteries. For more information about his specialty, visit:
http://physicians.umm.edu/videos/proven-expertise-in-multiple-artery-living-donor-kidney-transplantation )


Layla and the Cospers are thrilled to announce that their new surgery date is February 23rd, 2018, and the entire team at the University of Maryland Medical Center has fast-tracked the process!

Due the wonderful speed at which this all has come finally together, the travel and hotel expenses are daunting, and this is why Layla REALLY needs help and QUICKLY!  Although Layla's actual medical expenses are covered by insurance,  hotel and travel expenses are not, and organ recipients are prohibited from providing financial assistance to their donors.  

Layla and her caregiver will be flying to and from Baltimore for her surgery, and staying in Baltimore for 12 days.  Layla is required to stay in the area for 9 days after she is discharged from the hospital to make she does not suffer any complications after the operation.  We are asking friends, family, and friends of friends, basically anyone who wants to help for donations!

Donated funds will be used strictly for travel and lodging expenses.
Any remaining funds will be donated to charity, as required by Law. 

Layla has chosen to donate any remaining funds to the PKD Foundation. (You can find more information about what they do at https://pkdcure.org/  )

*Layla will be staying at the Residence Inn by Marriott, and flying to Baltimore from Nashville, which allows a choice of several airlines. If you would like to contribute points or miles to help offset expenses, please let us know!
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Donations 

  • Donna Smith
    • $100 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Julia Lammert
Organizer
Wilmington, NC

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