Hello, my name is Stephen Reed. Azra Johnson is my wife. She is also a great step-mom to my two kids and her own 4-year-old Xander.

She has battled Polycystic Kidney Disease her entire life. November she went into the ER after Thanksgiving thinking she had bad indigestion and we found out she had moved into Stage 4 Kidney Failure and spent a week in the hospital being cared for.

She was placed on the transplant list and we were told the time had come for her to get new kidneys. She has 5% function in one kidney. Her kidneys are swollen and covered in cysts. One of them is nearly the size of a football.

This year we were told she needed surgery to rearrange her intestines to make room for a new kidney and help her lose a little weight to give the new kidney the best chance at life. I have been fighting with my work insurance since March to get this done. They refuse to pay for this calling it an "elective" and an excluded procedure. I have multiple notes of medical necessity from doctors and surgeons.

As a family, we have managed to pull together $7100 to pay the surgeon. We paid nearly $3,000 in Doctors' visits and testing to get her approved for the surgery. We found out last week that she needs to have her Gallbladder removed and possibly a Hernia repaired while they are in there.

Our insurance is refusing to pay for these procedures because they were found during the process and not by her PCP or her Nephrologist. They are now asking for another $4,800 to cover the cost of these procedures before they will let us into the operating room now. I am still arguing and negotiating with the insurance and the hospital to find a way to get this for her.

Azra has not been able to work since November due to her being in advanced renal failure. She has now become Stage 5 renal failure and the Nephrologist wants to wait until after this procedure to put her on Dialysis.

I need to get her back on the transplant list. In order to do that we MUST have this surgery. The funds we are asking for will go to cover the cost of the additional removal of the Gallbladder and to repair of the Hernia. I have already agreed with the Nephrologist and her transplant doctor that I am willing to offer up my own kidney in trade if we can find a suitable donor. I just need some help to get her back on the list and move forward again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!