Kidney4Elizabeth
Donation protected
I am Elizabeth Mullins. I am a wife and a mother of an adult child on the autism spectrum. I am a social worker. I am active in my church and in the lives of my friends and family. And I am in kidney failure.
In November of 2016, my kidneys failed and I began dialysis. While dialysis can prolong the life of a person in kidney failure, it only replaces about 15% of kidney function and can lead to a host of other complications. The three-year survival rate for patients on dialysis is approximately 70%, but the five-year survival rate drops to 40%. The only answer for me is a kidney transplant.
As I am sure you can imagine, the journey to transplant is not an inexpensive one. Direct costs (both to me and a donor) are covered by insurance, but there are many related costs that add up quite quickly. My transplant team is in Indianapolis, Indiana, which is some distance from me. Because I live outside of the Indianapolis metropolitan area, there are considerable travels costs for the time surrounding the transplant itself as well as significant pre- and post-surgical care. There will be these costs for my living donor, as well. Because IU Health does not offer housing for adult patients' families, there will be the burden of housing for my donor's loved ones, in addition to expenses for mine, since I am required to have a support person with me while I am hospitalized. Meals, parking, and all the other incidentals add up quickly. I would also like to be able to reimburse my donor for any time he or she must be absent from work. Down the road, I will incur what could be considerable co-pays for anti-rejection medications which are used to keep my new kidney for as long as possible.
If you would like to help me meet these (and possibly other) costs, it would be such a blessing! Thank you so much and God bless!
For more information, visit my website at http://kidney4elizabeth.com/
In November of 2016, my kidneys failed and I began dialysis. While dialysis can prolong the life of a person in kidney failure, it only replaces about 15% of kidney function and can lead to a host of other complications. The three-year survival rate for patients on dialysis is approximately 70%, but the five-year survival rate drops to 40%. The only answer for me is a kidney transplant.
As I am sure you can imagine, the journey to transplant is not an inexpensive one. Direct costs (both to me and a donor) are covered by insurance, but there are many related costs that add up quite quickly. My transplant team is in Indianapolis, Indiana, which is some distance from me. Because I live outside of the Indianapolis metropolitan area, there are considerable travels costs for the time surrounding the transplant itself as well as significant pre- and post-surgical care. There will be these costs for my living donor, as well. Because IU Health does not offer housing for adult patients' families, there will be the burden of housing for my donor's loved ones, in addition to expenses for mine, since I am required to have a support person with me while I am hospitalized. Meals, parking, and all the other incidentals add up quickly. I would also like to be able to reimburse my donor for any time he or she must be absent from work. Down the road, I will incur what could be considerable co-pays for anti-rejection medications which are used to keep my new kidney for as long as possible.
If you would like to help me meet these (and possibly other) costs, it would be such a blessing! Thank you so much and God bless!
For more information, visit my website at http://kidney4elizabeth.com/
Organizer
Elizabeth Houk Mullins
Organizer
Richmond, IN
