Please donate to help Loren’s kidney transplant

A note from our dear friend Loren:

UPDATE: Surgery finally scheduled for August 11, 2023 @ CPMC. Thanks to Vanessa Taylor for the gift of life…and 50th birthday!

Horace Mann, the 1800s abolitionist and educator which some credit as the father of modern American education, was quoted as saying, 'be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.' Taking that idea to heart, I have not broached what can help my fellow man. I am convinced of the good that everyone can do for the public once they set aside ego, fear, and politics. Because of that belief, there is still a lot of good in the world and progress to be made through man's endeavors. Anyone who knows me can attest that I won't quit on anyone and will offer assistance when and where I can. Now we have come to a crossroads where for once, I have to be the one asking for help. (This is not something I am good at or have much experience in) because traditionally, my pride precludes me from asking for any benevolent aid. In the coming weeks and months, beginning on the 7th, I will undergo a heart bypass and, eventually, a kidney transplant. Despite insurance covering the vast majority of the procedures, there will be substantial out-of-pocket expenses. I am ballparking both surgeries with hospital stays and follow-up visits to exceed $500K, where my portion of the bill will be roughly 10-15%, minimum. Regarding the transplant portion of the surgeries, this will dramatically alter the course of events in my life and change how I approach my daily interactions. For most patients like me on dialysis, the wait and the paperwork involved with finding a donor can be lengthy and filled with rejection.

Luckily, those of you who I have known since my time at San Francisco State also know my eventual donor, Vanessa Taylor (nee Pinon), also from the Residence Life Staff. I am lucky and blessed to have such a loving and selfless friend to give me this second chance at life. I am so fortunate with the outpouring of friends and family who have helped me to this point and into the future. You can't put a price on life, but any aid offered will be appreciated and eternally remembered.