Fobazi’s road to recovery: Kidney and liver transplant
Donation protected
Hello all, my name is Ysabel and I’m fundraising for my friends Fobazi and Elena as they navigate Fobazi’s road to recovery. Fobazi is currently in the ICU, and will soon undergo lifesaving kidney and liver transplants.
Fobazi has sickle cell anemia, a genetic blood disorder that causes severe pain and that impacts all organs. The last few years she has been on dialysis due to kidney failure. During a recent hospitalization, doctors discovered that her liver was also failing. Fobazi now needs an emergency combination kidney/liver transplant.
Unfortunately, as the doctors prepared for the surgery, Fobazi began having multiple seizures, and the surgery had to be delayed to get them under control. Fobazi is now in a medically induced coma in the ICU being treated with multiple seizure medications. Thankfully, she has now been seizure-free for several days, and the doctors plan to go forward with the transplant when she wakes up and is alert and stable enough for surgery.
The transplant recovery is a long and involved process that will demand a significant amount of time and energy from Fobazi and her wife, Elena. I’m raising money - to be paid directly to them - to help with the associated costs, including:
- Moving and temporary housing costs, as doctors have informed them they need to immediately relocate to live near the hospital for several months of post-transplant care.
- Loss of income, as Fobazi will need to take leave from her job, and will be unable to take on her typical consulting work.
- Care fees for Chloe, as the transplant center’s temporary housing does not allow pets.
- Medical co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses, non-covered assistive care and assistive equipment, etc.
- Other ongoing and expected costs of moving, a long hospitalization, and post-transplant care including storage fees, transportation costs, hotel stays, hospital parking fees, food and basic necessities, and more.
If you know Fobazi personally, or even know of her important work in libraries, you know she is a fighter. She and Elena have been persisting for years through these health struggles, and supporting them through this time will help them to focus on what really matters.
Please give what you can, and share Fobazi’s story, to help her on her road to recovery.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ysabel Gerrard
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Elena Maris
Beneficiary