Share your Spare for Keith and Emily
Donation protected
Please, Share your Spare funds to Help Keith his family and their best friend Emily
Dear Friends and Family,
I have been given a gift!
… And you’re asking, “So why am I reading a Fundraiser Story?”
The answer is simple. It's because I want to help my brother, my best friend, in a time of crisis. I want to give back to someone who is giving my brother, a chance to live for 20+ more years. It's because my brother has experienced terrible pain and suffering for the past few years and will be incurring high medical bills and prescription costs for the rest of his life.
My brother Keith Rutkiewicz suffers from a serious kidney disease. Fourteen years ago he returned from his honeymoon with his wife Sarah and was diagnosed with IGA nephropathy. In the time since, he started his life. He is a father to a 12 year old boy, Jackson and an is active member of his community and church.
In the last 2 years, his kidneys began shutting down . I’ve watched him struggle to keep employment due to the pain, inability to sleep, fatigue, and near daily vomiting. Keith kept much of this suffering hidden from the world, but shared his burden with me. In June 2019, we found out that he is in End stage renal failure. He now has less than 9% kidney function.
Keith was then placed on the kidney transplant list, but finding a match would prove to be difficult. The family came together and made the calls to his Doctors to see who could be a donor. I do not have his blood type; I am not a match. In fact, no-one from his immediate family is able to donate. We thought this was going to be a painful process with dialysis and a lot of waiting. We thought the worse... Then there was hope.
Emily Gilbreath, my brother’s maid of honor and Sarah’s best friend stepped forward to be tested. She happens to be a Dialysis Staff Leader and left New England in October 2018 to help a trauma center with their dialysis nursing shortage in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She returned home 4 times to be tested and tested again. She missed countless days of work, incurred travel expenses and put her own life on hold just to be tested. It turns out, she is an excellent match.
The surgery will be difficult for Keith, but even harder for Emily. As Keith receives a new 100% working kidney, something he hasn’t had since his twenties, Emily loses 50% of her kidneys. As a result, they both will be missing 3-4 months of work.
The average cost of a kidney transplant in the USA is $260,000 plus $17,000 per year for anti rejection medication. While they have insurance, there will be large bills to pay and their income is eliminated/reduced during recovery. The amount we are seeking will help cover medical deductibles, prescription costs and lost wages. I will be handling the funds for them and 100% will go to helping them get whole during this process.
Transplant surgery is scheduled for January 2020, and everyone is optimistic and hopeful for a new start for Keith and a speedy recovery for Emily. Sarah, a Music Teacher and Choral director in Oxford, MA and their 12-year-old son Jackson have witnessed this amazing story unfold. We can’t wait to see Keith return to coaching Jackson’s baseball and basketball teams in Spencer, MA, to performing as a church organist and jazz musician, and resume family life on his own terms.
I am in awe of Emily’s sacrifice. A truly selfless act! She is doing something that I cannot. That his family cannot do. She does this at a great sacrifice. I am giving as much money as I can to help out two great people. I can’t do it alone and I am asking for your help.
Please give what you can.
Please share your spare!
Dear Friends and Family,
I have been given a gift!
… And you’re asking, “So why am I reading a Fundraiser Story?”
The answer is simple. It's because I want to help my brother, my best friend, in a time of crisis. I want to give back to someone who is giving my brother, a chance to live for 20+ more years. It's because my brother has experienced terrible pain and suffering for the past few years and will be incurring high medical bills and prescription costs for the rest of his life.
My brother Keith Rutkiewicz suffers from a serious kidney disease. Fourteen years ago he returned from his honeymoon with his wife Sarah and was diagnosed with IGA nephropathy. In the time since, he started his life. He is a father to a 12 year old boy, Jackson and an is active member of his community and church.
In the last 2 years, his kidneys began shutting down . I’ve watched him struggle to keep employment due to the pain, inability to sleep, fatigue, and near daily vomiting. Keith kept much of this suffering hidden from the world, but shared his burden with me. In June 2019, we found out that he is in End stage renal failure. He now has less than 9% kidney function.
Keith was then placed on the kidney transplant list, but finding a match would prove to be difficult. The family came together and made the calls to his Doctors to see who could be a donor. I do not have his blood type; I am not a match. In fact, no-one from his immediate family is able to donate. We thought this was going to be a painful process with dialysis and a lot of waiting. We thought the worse... Then there was hope.
Emily Gilbreath, my brother’s maid of honor and Sarah’s best friend stepped forward to be tested. She happens to be a Dialysis Staff Leader and left New England in October 2018 to help a trauma center with their dialysis nursing shortage in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She returned home 4 times to be tested and tested again. She missed countless days of work, incurred travel expenses and put her own life on hold just to be tested. It turns out, she is an excellent match.
The surgery will be difficult for Keith, but even harder for Emily. As Keith receives a new 100% working kidney, something he hasn’t had since his twenties, Emily loses 50% of her kidneys. As a result, they both will be missing 3-4 months of work.
The average cost of a kidney transplant in the USA is $260,000 plus $17,000 per year for anti rejection medication. While they have insurance, there will be large bills to pay and their income is eliminated/reduced during recovery. The amount we are seeking will help cover medical deductibles, prescription costs and lost wages. I will be handling the funds for them and 100% will go to helping them get whole during this process.
Transplant surgery is scheduled for January 2020, and everyone is optimistic and hopeful for a new start for Keith and a speedy recovery for Emily. Sarah, a Music Teacher and Choral director in Oxford, MA and their 12-year-old son Jackson have witnessed this amazing story unfold. We can’t wait to see Keith return to coaching Jackson’s baseball and basketball teams in Spencer, MA, to performing as a church organist and jazz musician, and resume family life on his own terms.
I am in awe of Emily’s sacrifice. A truly selfless act! She is doing something that I cannot. That his family cannot do. She does this at a great sacrifice. I am giving as much money as I can to help out two great people. I can’t do it alone and I am asking for your help.
Please give what you can.
Please share your spare!
Organizer and beneficiary
Brian Rutkiewicz
Organizer
Worcester, MA
Keith Rutkiewicz
Beneficiary