My husband's journey to wellness began in earnest on March 2, 2018 when he went through double-bypass surgery at an all-too-young age of 43 years old. On that day, at nearly 350lbs, the cardiovascular surgeon told me that if David didn't completely change his lifestyle this surgery only bought him 10 years. David took the news very serious, and was so grateful to God that He had seen him through such a complicated and life-threatening tribulation. David made a commitment to himself and to me to make his recovery a testament to Him. David has always loved and wanted to help those that are less fortunate and who may not be able to help themselves and decided his purpose for being spared was to LIVE for his family, and help as many people as he could. In the 3 years since, David has not only lost over 150lbs, but he returned to school and earned his Bachelor's degree in Human Services and now works as a Case Manager with the homeless in Jacksonville, FL at MHRC.

Unfortunately, during David's journey to better health, he acquired a diabetic wound on his foot from exercise which required 2 rounds of very strong IV antibiotics for 8 weeks each time. This treatment was very hard on his kidneys and as a result damaged his kidneys beyond measure. David was diagnosed with Stage 5 renal kidney failure and has been on home dialysis since July, 2020. Yet amazingly through the Pandemic and dealing with nightly treatments, he has been able to maintain his full time job helping serve those less fortunate then he. He amazes me every day because I see the pain he is in at night when he has to hook up to the machine that keeps him alive. He doesn't complain and still gets up every day to take care of me and his 3 fur babies. I don't know many people who could even endure an 1/8 of what he has had to endure and even through it all he pushes through with a great attitude and will to live! He is my hero.

For those that do not know, kidney disease is irreversible. There is no drug or therapy that can reverse the damage done. The only recourse is dialysis or a kidney transplant. We have been extremely blessed that David's cousin/angel, Sharon, came forward to selflessly volunteer to donate her kidney in order to save his life. Since January of this year, she has gone through all the required testing mandated by Mayo Clinic and has been given the green light to donate her kidney. Although she is not David's exact match, she will be paired with another in need that is her exact blood type and the same will happen for David. Mayo says they want both Sharon's and David's surgery to happen at the same time. We are looking at 3-6 months which is a miracle given all that is going on with the pandemic. Normally the wait for a kidney is 5-6 years, so to shave off years is a blessing from God!

Although we have very good insurance and both surgeries are covered, Sharon's travel/lodging for the surgery, as well as several of the post op drugs that David will have to take up to a year will cost upwards of $1250 a month, have made it necessary for us to reach out to our friends/family/ and social media networks for help. We are looking to raise a goal of $20,000 to cover these expenses. We don't want to just ask for donations without giving back to you!

We will be selling my mom's soon-to-be famous "Maria's Gourmet Delights" empanadas and rum balls. The earnings from the sales will go directly to help fund for these medical expenses. We will be taking orders locally in the greater Jacksonville area starting next week, October 3rd and will be ready for pickup on October 16th. After that, I will take orders at the start of the week and they will be ready that weekend. I will be selling beef and chicken empanadas as well as chocolate rum balls. Message me for prices. If you are not interested in purchasing empanadas or rum balls, but would like to help support our cause, you can donate to the David's kidney transplant expenses Go Fund Me page.

I want to thank you for reading about my husbands journey and a thank you in advance for your patronage, donations, and prayers. God Bless!

Melie Clark