This is Isaac. Isaac is four years old. Isaac has Down syndrome, chronic lung disease, and is in stage 4 kidney failure. Isaac needs a kidney transplant. Someone is donating their kidney in a few days, on the 12th, so Isaac will be moved to the top of the transplant list.

Isaac is our son. We adopted him at birth. He was born in Texas and was life-flighted to Milwaukee when he was three weeks old. He's been inpatient at Children's Milwaukee more times than I care to count. Children's Milwaukee is 90 miles from our home.

When Isaac is ready for his kidney transplant, he and I will go to Milwaukee. He will probably be inpatient for a month. We will have a room at the Ronald McDonald House. We will live in isolation, probably for three months.

My husband will take family medical leave when this happens. He will not receive a paycheck for those three months, but he will have a job to go back to once Isaac is in recovery. My husband will be staying home, 90 miles away from us, with our other four children.

Which brings us to our son Levon. Levon is 20 months old. He has Goldenhar Syndrome. He has a trach and a gtube for nutrition. He needs nursing care, someone who knows how to suction his trach, give him breathing treatments, hook him up to oxygen....so he can survive.

I am trying as hard as I can (and receiving some pretty nasty comments because of how hard I am trying, how much I am posting), to get enough nursing and respite care settled in our home so that Mark has it a bit easier, caring for an 11 year old with CHARGE syndrome, a 9 year old sassy son, a 7 year old with Down syndrome, and Levon, our 20 month old son with Goldenhar Syndrome.

We are going to be running two households in the foreseeable future, my Son is having a 4 million dollar transplant, we have to pay for the RMH and our own mortgage, all our bills, for food for two places (can't get the meals provided at RMH because, germs. Isolation.) If I knew anyone who would be able to afford an extra $800 a week while paying for two households, two cars, five children, mortgages and rent.....I would hit them up for the money, because we could certainly use it!