<div>Earlier this year, I created this GoFundMe because I needed help getting back into the insurance system so I could remain active on the heart transplant list.
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<div>I never imagined I’d be writing this update from a hospital room where I’ve now spent the last 29 days, and where I’ll remain until I receive a new heart.
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<div>Because of the infection and my transplant status, it’s no longer safe for me to wait at home. My hospital room has become my home until that phone call becomes a reality.
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<div>For those who may be new here, I’ve been living with heart failure for over a decade. Five and a half years ago my heart became too weak to keep me alive on its own, and I had open heart surgery to have an LVAD implanted. That mechanical pump has kept me going ever since while I’ve waited for the gift of a heart transplant.
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<div>Over the last month, what started as a driveline infection turned into much more. After multiple surgeries, wound cleanings, countless scans, procedures, and rounds of IV antibiotics, blood cultures showed the bacteria had spread beyond where it started. Because of that I was temporarily made inactive on the transplant list while my doctors worked to get the infection under control.
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<div>Two days ago, I was finally placed at UNOS status 2. After waiting more than five years with my LVAD, it finally felt like a transplant wasn’t just something I hoped for anymore. It actually felt within reach.
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<div>Twenty-four hours later, everything changed. Those positive blood cultures came back and I was dropped to status 7, inactive.
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<div>Thankfully my most recent blood culture came back negative. Now we’re waiting on another one. If my next culture is also negative, my team will reactivate me to status 2, and once again I’ll be waiting for the call that could save my life.
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<div>There are still so many unknowns.
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<div>The bacteria I’m fighting already proved resistant to one of the antibiotics I was on, forcing my doctors to switch me to a stronger IV medication. Every day the goal is the same: get the infection out before it reaches the LVAD itself. If that happens, things get a lot more dangerous. Right now every blood test, every culture, every procedure, and every antibiotic is about staying one step ahead of it.
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<div>Because I’m O positive, my wait for a donor heart will likely be longer than many other patients. It could be a couple of weeks. It could be several months. Nobody can tell me. That’s one of the hardest parts of this journey.
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<div>The hardest part is that life outside these hospital walls doesn’t pause just because mine has.
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<div>Rent is still due. Utilities still have to be paid. Insurance premiums don’t stop. Everyday living expenses don’t disappear just because I’m stuck in a hospital bed. The only difference is I can’t leave this room to earn the money to cover any of it.
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<div>Asking for help has always been one of the hardest things for me. I don’t have disability. I don’t have social security. I’ve just always found a way, my whole life, that’s what I do. But for the first time I’m having a hard time finding the way.
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<div>So many of you have already prayed, donated, shared this page, sent encouraging messages, and reminded me I’m not fighting this alone. I can’t fully put into words what that’s meant to me.
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<div>If you’re able to give, no matter the amount, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you’re not in a position to give, sharing this is just as valuable. Every share gives this story another shot at reaching someone willing to help.
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<div>For more than five years, I’ve tried to show people what it looks like to keep fighting, even when life isn’t fair.
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<div>Today, I’m humbly asking you to stand beside me as I fight for my life.
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<div>Pray for me. Share this. Donate if you’re able. And believe with me that somewhere out there is the heart that’s meant to save my life.
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<div>I still believe God’s not finished with me yet.
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<div>Fueled by Love. Always.
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<div>Cliff ❤️
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