Helping Charlie find a kidney....
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Charlie's Story...
Charlie Ross is a husband, father and brother who is 47 years old, with a number of significant health issues. Charlie has a mechanical heart valve; he is a stage 4 melanoma survivor and is in end stage renal failure. Charlie has Polycystic Kidney disease which destroyed both of his kidneys. He requires dialysis five days per week, 4 hours per day, to sustain his life. Unfortunately, the removal of one of his diseased kidneys required Charlie to have multiple blood transfusions. He recently learned that the blood transfusions caused his antibodies to significantly increase. The doctors at the University of Rochester’s transplant unit informed Charlie he has just a 1 in 1,000 chance of a successful kidney transplant due to the high antibodies. One doctor described it as “finding a needle in a haystack”.
The Need for Help...
Charlie’s health issues forced him to give up his career in law enforcement; he went on permanent disability in 2011 when he was diagnosed with melanoma. He is fortunate to have insurance coverage through his wife Jen’s employer and is eligible for Medicare (due to renal failure), he often has medical co-pays and travel expenses for medical appointments that his insurances do not cover. Charlie’s dialysis expenses alone are $89,000 per month before insurance! Charlie has been dependent on dialysis for more than 4-years now.

Yesterday, one of the doctors at U of R suggested Charlie go to John Hopkins and/or Penn for a second opinion on his case. We are encouraging Charlie to pursue a second opinion. Charlie is concerned about the cost of the trip. Recently, Charlie and Jen found the back of their house had significant water damage that needed immediate attention. Of course their homeowners insurance will not cover the repairs; they say that it was an “undiscovered on-going issue”.
We are hoping to raise money to assist with out-of-pocket medical expenses, travel expenses for a second medical opinion, and to assist with the cost of their recent home repairs. Our goal is to help Charlie and Jen focus on their family and finding the “needle in a haystack”.
Whatever you can give to help Charlie continue his fight is greatly appreciated. To help me get the word out please consider sharing this message.
We'd like to offer "special thanks" to friends and family members who have been tested to see if they were a match for Charlie!
Charlie Ross is a husband, father and brother who is 47 years old, with a number of significant health issues. Charlie has a mechanical heart valve; he is a stage 4 melanoma survivor and is in end stage renal failure. Charlie has Polycystic Kidney disease which destroyed both of his kidneys. He requires dialysis five days per week, 4 hours per day, to sustain his life. Unfortunately, the removal of one of his diseased kidneys required Charlie to have multiple blood transfusions. He recently learned that the blood transfusions caused his antibodies to significantly increase. The doctors at the University of Rochester’s transplant unit informed Charlie he has just a 1 in 1,000 chance of a successful kidney transplant due to the high antibodies. One doctor described it as “finding a needle in a haystack”.
The Need for Help...
Charlie’s health issues forced him to give up his career in law enforcement; he went on permanent disability in 2011 when he was diagnosed with melanoma. He is fortunate to have insurance coverage through his wife Jen’s employer and is eligible for Medicare (due to renal failure), he often has medical co-pays and travel expenses for medical appointments that his insurances do not cover. Charlie’s dialysis expenses alone are $89,000 per month before insurance! Charlie has been dependent on dialysis for more than 4-years now.
Yesterday, one of the doctors at U of R suggested Charlie go to John Hopkins and/or Penn for a second opinion on his case. We are encouraging Charlie to pursue a second opinion. Charlie is concerned about the cost of the trip. Recently, Charlie and Jen found the back of their house had significant water damage that needed immediate attention. Of course their homeowners insurance will not cover the repairs; they say that it was an “undiscovered on-going issue”.
We are hoping to raise money to assist with out-of-pocket medical expenses, travel expenses for a second medical opinion, and to assist with the cost of their recent home repairs. Our goal is to help Charlie and Jen focus on their family and finding the “needle in a haystack”.
Whatever you can give to help Charlie continue his fight is greatly appreciated. To help me get the word out please consider sharing this message.
We'd like to offer "special thanks" to friends and family members who have been tested to see if they were a match for Charlie!
Organizer
Brenda Ross-O'toole
Organizer
Horseheads, NY
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