Help Michael Overcome Transplant Challenges

Receiving the gift of a donated kidney is a blessing to experience, and I have gone through this long, uneventful journey with my best friend Michael. A history of diabetes, high blood pressure, and Motrin for pain put him on a path we had not anticipated. His transplant journey has not been an easy one, yet it is still a gift. I thought he'd get his new kidney and go on living his best life!! LOL. He received his transplanted kidney in December 2023 and has spent the majority of 2024 in the hospital or going back and forth to the hospital. He's had one surgery or procedure after another because he required a stent to connect his kidney to his bladder, and it has to be stretched and changed every 3 to 6 months. On top of that, he got a virus from the transplanted kidney that he didn't have immunity to, and his body is having problems fighting off the virus since his immune system is compromised by the anti-rejection medicine that is currently protecting the new kidney. The balancing act the doctors have to do to maintain the kidney, yet help his body with medicine that can potentially damage the kidney but help against the virus, is crazy.

I'm here with you guys because the Kidney Foundation can only help with the secondary medical expenses not covered by Medicare so much now, and because his journey has been longer than normal and he's not been able to work through this, his social security disability just isn't enough. I know things are tight for everyone, but I gratefully ask if you can give what you can to help my friend continue to fight through the roadblocks that are in his path to health, it would mean so much to me and to him. Thank you so much for hearing his story and doing what you can to help.