Helping an angel recover

So several years ago my older sister Christine was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease – it can cause your kidneys to get clusters of cysts and lose function over time.

A little over a year ago, we learned that that time was coming fast. We started going through the steps to donate a kidney to our sister, only to find we were getting rejected for various reasons. It was extremely disheartening. We put the word out to see if anyone who knew Chris could possibly donate.

My sister Vicki met this woman Pam through an online forum. As we were having a hard time finding a donor, a mom with a 4 year old son posted that she was looking for information about how to be a kidney donor.  Vicki got her in touch with Chris’s program, and she started the testing process immediately. She passed every test and was finally approved for donation back in June.

Well, today, July 20th, this selfless woman went in for surgery for someone she hadn’t even known months ago.

Recovery from kidney surgery is tough on both participants – a few days recovery time in the hospital as well as 4-6 weeks of recovery time at home. No heavy lifting, taking it easy, etc.

We as a family are doing our best to rally around Christine and we want to be able to do the same for Pam, and thankfully so many of our friends are asking how to do the same. Pam has told Vicki that she hopes her story will inspire others to consider kidney donation to help others with this live saving need.

So we thought we could set up a Go fund me to help Pam through her recovery. If you can give anything, please do, no matter what the amount. Humanity’s ability to selflessly care for total strangers in the most sacrificial ways is one of the most amazing qualities I can think of.