Support Mercedez's Journey to a New Kidney

Hello, my name is Sherman. I'm married to my wife Mercedez. We've been married almost 20 years and we have two teenage daughters. I'm here trying to raise funds so my wife can get a kidney transplant. She was diagnosed with kidney failure 6 years ago and it really turned our family upside down, especially financially. I work a full-time job, but with two teenage daughters, after I pay the rent, our girls suck up any change left.

So the thing is that we live in the Houston area. My wife has been going to dialysis treatment for about 5 years here via Houston Methodist Hospital. One day, a caretaker told her she should apply at Baylor Scott & White Transplant Center in Fort Worth, Texas, which is a 3.5-hour drive for us. So she applied, and her application was accepted. Then we had to go to the Baylor hospital to meet her potential transplant team and run tests and labs to see if they'd accept her as a candidate. It was two days of business, then we drove back home. Two weeks later, she got the call that she was accepted.

At first, we weren't very excited because she's been on the Houston Methodist list for 5 years now, so we're like she's at the bottom of their list. But 6 months later, we got the call they had a match to get ready to arrive within 24 hours. When they called back after the procedure to remove the kidney, it turned out the kidney had a cyst, so it was rejected. Three months later, Baylor called again and told us to be there in 24 hours because they had a healthy match, but we had to decline due to financial problems. See, we will have to stay in Fort Worth for 30 days so they can monitor her closely, with 6-10 appointments weekly with the specialists to make sure the kidney is accepted and performing properly. This means we will have to be in a hotel room for 30 days, so that's why I'm asking for help.

The transplant is covered by my job's insurance, but they won't pay for transportation or housing. We're hoping that Houston Methodist would call with a match, then we could just stay in our house and make the appropriate arrangements. But unfortunately, Houston is extremely slow for some reason. My wife knows a couple of people who have gotten transplants via Houston, but it took 10+ years. So we're hoping to raise the funds so we can have money for the hotel stay plus keep up with rent and bills at home, as I will have to take a leave of absence from work for 30 days. After the initial 30 days post-transplant, they say the appointments will drop down to 1 or 2 visits a week, but we can make that drive for those appointments, just not during the first 30 days with so many appointments.

If you find it in your heart to help, we'll gladly appreciate it. Either way, thanks for taking your time to read about our family. Wishing you and yours good health, peace, and happiness. Thanks.