Kerry Forbush End Stage Liver Disease Support
Donation protected
Kerry is facing end stage liver disease and needs our support.
Kerry is truly a hero in the way she has responded to the progression of her disease and its impact on her life. She continues to smile and be positive. For her to miss a day of work means she is either at the hospital or so sick she can barely stand. The financial impact has been great despite her father and mother helping as much as 2 retired parents can. Kerry has used up her sick time at work. When she misses work for appointments and hospitalizations, she doesn’t get paid. She has medical debt from 2018 and 2019 nearing $10,000, which grows monthly. Her annual out-of-pocket obligation is $8000. The trips to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston cost money in time missed from work, gas and parking. Insurance doesn’t cover the cost of the saline she needs to flush her catheters. When she undergoes the transplant, she will be out of work for several months without pay. No company will approve her for disability insurance. We are told the transplant medications average $2500 monthly but don’t yet know how much insurance will cover. This fundraiser will help cover her 2018 and 2019 bills so far, her out of pocket obligation, her trips to doctors in Boston, and 4 months of post-transplant expenses once that day comes.
Where Kerry stands on the waiting list for a liver is evaluated every 3 months. Patients are scored with 40 being the highest (or sickest). At this time, Kerry scores 30. She is due to be re-evaluated in September. Her score could go up or down, depending on the results of her lab work. Consideration is also given to other factors such as the infections and hospitalizations she has experienced. She is also participating in a trial at MGH, which has been highly successful, in transplanting organs from donors with hepatitis since this disease can now be treated. Either way, no one knows how long Kerry must wait for a new beginning.
Our families’ lives are on hold waiting for Kerry to get THE call that we pray will give her the life that a girl and young mother, who just turned 29 today, should have. The stress of her condition, the wait and expenses are heavy. Your prayers and good thoughts are sincerely appreciated as are any monetary donations to assist Kerry and her family.
The history of Kerry's journey is below.
For those who can, we ask for your help through a donation to the campaign. We ask all of you, donation or not, to keep Kerry and her family in your prayers.
And we ask all of you to share this campaign with your friends and contact using the following link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/kerry-forbush
and, to post this on your facebook and other social sites to invite your contacts to pitch in.
Thank you and God bless,
Laurie Kempf (Kerry's Mom) and Pat Kempf (Laurie's Cousin)
Campaign Leaders
Kerry was born 7/11/1990. Everything about the pregnancy and birth were normal except that Kerry’s stools as a newborn were clay-like in color. At nearly age 6 weeks, Kerry started to become jaundiced. Fortunately, her pediatrician had learned about Biliary Atresia as an intern and knew the signs. The doctor arranged for Kerry to be seen and tested by a Boston pediatric gastroenterologist who confirmed the diagnosis. Biliary Atresia affects only infants and is a disease in which the bile ducts are inflamed and blocked at birth. The bile remains in the liver where it destroys liver cells rapidly and causes cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver. The cause is unknown. Left untreated, infants typically succumb by age 8 weeks. Kerry was rushed into surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital at age 7 weeks, within 3 days of being diagnosed. The Kasai Procedure was performed, in which the small intestine is attached to the liver, in order to provide a means to drain the bile from the liver. This procedure took 9 hours and had a 50/50 success rate. Failure means a liver transplant is needed. Kerry’s procedure was a success. She endured some infections as a child but has led a healthy and normal life from about age 7 to age 28. Kerry had annual lab work and visits with her gastroenterologist, required no medication nor special diet or activity restrictions. No one would have known about her disease unless they saw the horizontal scar across her abdomen. Of course, Kerry never drank alcohol, smoked or took drugs. She had a normal pregnancy at age 27 and is the proud mother of Willow, who will be 2 in October. Kerry has a degree in early childhood development and works as a preschool teacher. She is engaged to Matt, Willow’s father, and plans to be married after her liver transplant.
Which brings me to November 2, 2018, when Kerry suddenly became jaundiced, just 2 days after my own mother passed unexpectedly at age 96. Tests confirmed Kerry’s liver was functioning poorly and a new way of life began with our visit on November 7th to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). A series of appointments and tests such as ultrasounds, MRI’s, probes with needles and dyes confirmed Kerry was facing end stage liver disease due to cumulative and massive scarring throughout her liver. We were told the Kasai Procedure typically gets the patient to their teenage years before a liver transplant is needed. Kerry made it to age 28 and began the New Year of 2019 by being placed on the National Organ Transplant List. She has 2 catheters protruding from her upper abdomen which drain the bile into 2 bags that she will wear until she receives a new liver. A partial liver transplant is not an option for her due to the condition of her liver. Kerry must drain and flush these twice daily and make monthly trips to MGH for catheter exchanges. Her condition makes her jaundiced, tired, nauseous and dealing with diarrhea at times. She has to be mindful of the catheters at all times so they aren’t pulled on or damaged as she cares for her daughter and children at school. Kerry cannot submerge them which means swimming and bathtubs are out.
Kerry has had 2 life-threatening infections from the catheters since January. Both required ambulance trips to Boston because our local hospitals are unable to treat her disease. In March, she became septic when a catheter leaked bile into her bloodstream. In May, she developed ascending cholangitis when bile backed up from her intestine into the liver. Both episodes hospitalized her for 6 days. These took her away from her family and work. Infection is a constant risk of having the catheters but there is no option other than the liver transplant.
Kerry is truly a hero in the way she has responded to the progression of her disease and its impact on her life. She continues to smile and be positive. For her to miss a day of work means she is either at the hospital or so sick she can barely stand. The financial impact has been great despite her father and mother helping as much as 2 retired parents can. Kerry has used up her sick time at work. When she misses work for appointments and hospitalizations, she doesn’t get paid. She has medical debt from 2018 and 2019 nearing $10,000, which grows monthly. Her annual out-of-pocket obligation is $8000. The trips to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston cost money in time missed from work, gas and parking. Insurance doesn’t cover the cost of the saline she needs to flush her catheters. When she undergoes the transplant, she will be out of work for several months without pay. No company will approve her for disability insurance. We are told the transplant medications average $2500 monthly but don’t yet know how much insurance will cover. This fundraiser will help cover her 2018 and 2019 bills so far, her out of pocket obligation, her trips to doctors in Boston, and 4 months of post-transplant expenses once that day comes.
Where Kerry stands on the waiting list for a liver is evaluated every 3 months. Patients are scored with 40 being the highest (or sickest). At this time, Kerry scores 30. She is due to be re-evaluated in September. Her score could go up or down, depending on the results of her lab work. Consideration is also given to other factors such as the infections and hospitalizations she has experienced. She is also participating in a trial at MGH, which has been highly successful, in transplanting organs from donors with hepatitis since this disease can now be treated. Either way, no one knows how long Kerry must wait for a new beginning.
Our families’ lives are on hold waiting for Kerry to get THE call that we pray will give her the life that a girl and young mother, who just turned 29 today, should have. The stress of her condition, the wait and expenses are heavy. Your prayers and good thoughts are sincerely appreciated as are any monetary donations to assist Kerry and her family.
The history of Kerry's journey is below.
For those who can, we ask for your help through a donation to the campaign. We ask all of you, donation or not, to keep Kerry and her family in your prayers.
And we ask all of you to share this campaign with your friends and contact using the following link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/kerry-forbush
and, to post this on your facebook and other social sites to invite your contacts to pitch in.
Thank you and God bless,
Laurie Kempf (Kerry's Mom) and Pat Kempf (Laurie's Cousin)
Campaign Leaders
Kerry was born 7/11/1990. Everything about the pregnancy and birth were normal except that Kerry’s stools as a newborn were clay-like in color. At nearly age 6 weeks, Kerry started to become jaundiced. Fortunately, her pediatrician had learned about Biliary Atresia as an intern and knew the signs. The doctor arranged for Kerry to be seen and tested by a Boston pediatric gastroenterologist who confirmed the diagnosis. Biliary Atresia affects only infants and is a disease in which the bile ducts are inflamed and blocked at birth. The bile remains in the liver where it destroys liver cells rapidly and causes cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver. The cause is unknown. Left untreated, infants typically succumb by age 8 weeks. Kerry was rushed into surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital at age 7 weeks, within 3 days of being diagnosed. The Kasai Procedure was performed, in which the small intestine is attached to the liver, in order to provide a means to drain the bile from the liver. This procedure took 9 hours and had a 50/50 success rate. Failure means a liver transplant is needed. Kerry’s procedure was a success. She endured some infections as a child but has led a healthy and normal life from about age 7 to age 28. Kerry had annual lab work and visits with her gastroenterologist, required no medication nor special diet or activity restrictions. No one would have known about her disease unless they saw the horizontal scar across her abdomen. Of course, Kerry never drank alcohol, smoked or took drugs. She had a normal pregnancy at age 27 and is the proud mother of Willow, who will be 2 in October. Kerry has a degree in early childhood development and works as a preschool teacher. She is engaged to Matt, Willow’s father, and plans to be married after her liver transplant.
Which brings me to November 2, 2018, when Kerry suddenly became jaundiced, just 2 days after my own mother passed unexpectedly at age 96. Tests confirmed Kerry’s liver was functioning poorly and a new way of life began with our visit on November 7th to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). A series of appointments and tests such as ultrasounds, MRI’s, probes with needles and dyes confirmed Kerry was facing end stage liver disease due to cumulative and massive scarring throughout her liver. We were told the Kasai Procedure typically gets the patient to their teenage years before a liver transplant is needed. Kerry made it to age 28 and began the New Year of 2019 by being placed on the National Organ Transplant List. She has 2 catheters protruding from her upper abdomen which drain the bile into 2 bags that she will wear until she receives a new liver. A partial liver transplant is not an option for her due to the condition of her liver. Kerry must drain and flush these twice daily and make monthly trips to MGH for catheter exchanges. Her condition makes her jaundiced, tired, nauseous and dealing with diarrhea at times. She has to be mindful of the catheters at all times so they aren’t pulled on or damaged as she cares for her daughter and children at school. Kerry cannot submerge them which means swimming and bathtubs are out.
Kerry has had 2 life-threatening infections from the catheters since January. Both required ambulance trips to Boston because our local hospitals are unable to treat her disease. In March, she became septic when a catheter leaked bile into her bloodstream. In May, she developed ascending cholangitis when bile backed up from her intestine into the liver. Both episodes hospitalized her for 6 days. These took her away from her family and work. Infection is a constant risk of having the catheters but there is no option other than the liver transplant.
Organizer and beneficiary
Pat Kempf
Organizer
Roanoke, TX
Laurie Kempf
Beneficiary
