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Michele Scheve - Transplant & Recover Fund - Phs 3

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After nearly 6 years of surviving with dialysis 3-4 days a week, waiting optimistically on the transplant list and after numerous living donor attempts had not been accepted by doctors, Michele had a living donor come forward, a childhood friend she hadn't seen in 30 years (Marie), that was approved for doing the transplant. Things were slated to happen in April of 2020. But Covid struck and brought everything to a screeching halt. No one was certain what would happen. But as this summary is being typed, both Michele and Marie are doing the actual transplant right now. They are in surgery as this Phase 3 fund drive is being launched.

It is quickly apparent when you watch the video they shot two days before their surgeries that they have a lot of old stories to tell from their shared past. And it is also obvious when you see them together that they have many new stories to create within their shared future. A fellow classmate of theirs passed away not too long ago, in part due to kidney failure. Marie said to Michele, very emotionally, that she couldn't let the same fate fall on her and shared "I didn't want Zoe to grow up without her Mom."

Because of your generosity in previous Fundraising Phase's, combined with tight and deliberate management of those funds by Michele, we were able to cover the transportation, lodging , testing and non-insured costs for Marie to go through the whole process again once Emory said we could restart last month.  It involved multiple visits to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA for advanced testing/screening and prep. (Marie is from Mobile, AL. Michele lives in Asheville, NC.) Phase 2, which saw so many Asheville businesses and artists step forward with donations of items and event spaces for concerts and comedy shows had to be scrapped due to Covid. This has meant a heavier load for the final phase.

This final Phase of the fund drive will be utilized to cover all costs incurred for Marie and her Husband Michael during the surgery and recovery, to help offset some of the cost of lodging for Matt (Michele's Partner) to stay in Atlanta throughout her up to 30 day recovery (as her care partner), to help cover the non-insured costs for both their surgeries and recoveries and to help ensure that the kids can see Michele at least one or two times during the initial recovery time. Some of these funds will also help offset the large co-pay costs of the many expensive anti-rejection meds that Michele will need to take, to preserve Marie's donated kidney in her body. This phase is estimated, with the advice of the Transplant Team Coordinators at around $5,000. We wanted to wait until we knew it was all going before launching the final Phase of family, friend and community support. And stated earlier, they are in the operating room as this is being launched.

We are so grateful for the love, encouragement and support our friends, family and community have offered over this trying stretch and Michele has committed all she has to paying this blessing forward. So many of you have helped before, this is something we will never forget - or stop earning. 

Thank you so much. Every bit helps.

Matt (Michele's Partner)

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Donations 

  • Andrea Robel
    • $50
    • 4 yrs
  • Steven Howard
    • $100
    • 4 yrs
  • Mackensy Lunsford
    • $30
    • 4 yrs
  • Jake Frankel
    • $50
    • 4 yrs
  • Dan Cabaniss
    • $100
    • 4 yrs
Illustration of helping hands

Give $75 to help get this fundraiser to its goal

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Organizer

Matt Mittan
Organizer
Asheville, NC

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