<div>Hello! My name is Matt Sotelo, and I'm a proud Arizonan in need of a kidney transplant. You can read about my journey <a href="https://mattyneedsakidney.blogspot.com/2025/03/asking-for-help-is-hard.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ_GbNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFMcWhZTTljNU5sZjFJRUJ1AR4Wo6h5clmLI3EpVVZQ17wXx-r8oPZp2wU7pbXoqmdPHk71hNRl3VIpEGZ3vA_aem_bLkn5rZAxWRNYxVo7f1VVQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>. Essentially, due to a combination of genetics and high blood pressure, I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at the age of 28-29. I did what I could to change my lifestyle to get the most out of the remaining function of the kidneys. The fact is, I thought I had more time. However, in late 2024, it finally happened. I landed in the hospital for all of December, and eventually got put on dialysis. 

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>It's been a whirlwind thus far. As I worked to get my body used to dialysis, it was still affected by other side effects of CKD. I'll admit, depression and anxiety are doing their best to kick my ass every day and bring me down. But I'm so blessed to have an incredible support network of family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers who go to battle with me through prayers, support, and messages of affirmation. 

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>I never thought I'd be in this position, asking for help at this level. It's a humbling experience, truly. 

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div><strong>The Ask.</strong>

</div>

<div>I'm humbly asking for donations toward the surgery and post-surgery medications for my kidney transplant. I don't have an official match yet, but I'm preparing for the upcoming costs that I will endure. A kidney transplant surgery averages $400k. I'm lucky to have insurance, but my transplant team informed me that out-of-pocket costs still average $25-$30k for most, if not more. After the surgery comes the medications. I'll need a myriad of medications to help my body not reject the new organ. Those, too, are a pretty penny. We're talking $1,500 to $1,800 PER MONTH for the first year post-surgery. Yay, American Healthcare System! 

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div><strong>More About Me.</strong>

</div>

<div>Maybe you're a stranger to me, and you don't want to give to some dude on the internet asking for help. I get it. I'll tell you more about me, so we don't have to be strangers, and hopefully, you feel more confident about where your donation is going. First, I'm 38 years old, and I was born in Phoenix. I'm a military brat, with both my parents serving in the United States Air Force - it's a cute story, I promise. I lost my Mom in 2011, and it still hurts. I'm lucky to have my Dad with me, and he's my best friend. I'm also adopted, and recently met my biological father and his family. They're my bonus family, and that story is awesome too. For the past 15 years, I've worked in the nonprofit industry. My mother always told me that if you're able, helping people is what we should be doing. I'm blessed in my current career to be able to help folks on their leadership journeys. With the help of some incredible, established leaders, I connect participants to our beautiful communities to help make impactful change. I take my role of Nino (godfather) to two amazing girls who will no doubt take over the world. I use my blinker (might be my best trait tbh). I'm a son, a cousin, a big and little brother to my new sisters, a mentor, a therapy client, a proud member of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity (Fall 05, Chi Beta Chapter), and an advocate for education. I like long walks on the beach, even though I don't like the texture of the sand on my feet. I hope that tidbit helps us not be strangers anymore. If you're interested in more of my story, please see the link above for my blog. 

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Whether you donate or not, I'm just thankful that you visited my page. At the very least, if you could share this and my blog with your network, it would mean the world to me. Thank you again for taking the time to learn about my cause and learn about me. I'm grateful, and I hope something amazing happens to you today. 

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

Grecia Deniz

Ittzel Villa

Citlalli Celis

Anonymous

Orlando Menjivar

Diane Hernandez

Brian Castro

Stacy Shaffer

In-Hye Han

Michelle Gerner

Nicole Santarsiero

Naveed Shan

Richard Nickel

Help Matty with his Kidney Journey

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

checkout headers audience

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Matty with his Kidney Journey

Still $21,823 to go. Help us build momentum.