Kidney Disease Journey-Tom Dunn
Donation protected
Who am I
I am Tom's biggest supporter, best friend, and confidant I have been there for him through his most recent fight against Kidney Disease since the beginning. I met Tom in November 2013, we clicked immediately and our friendship has grown tremendously since. We have been through the good, the bad, and the ugly together but mostly we have experienced many joys and made wonderful memories! I'll admit...I was scared in the beginning and my first thought was turn around and run the other direction as fast as you can, this is too much too handle. But my heart told me otherwise, so I chose to learn everything I could about this disease that affects millions of Americans, that is 26 million and most of them don't even know they have kidney disease. That number and statistic alone sent me on a journey to learn more about this disease and figure out how can I help.
How am I helping
Other than supporting Tom's whole well-being as best as I know possible and developing this gofundme page, I have decided to donate one of my kidneys on Tom's behalf. I am not a match for Tom, but I am going to hopefully help him speed up the process of finding a match by becoming a part of the Paired Kidney Donor Program. This is not Toms first transplant and may not be his last. You see, when a person is an organ or tissue recipient their body naturally develops an increased amount of antibodies to protect itself from the foreign object. When this happens it makes it even more difficult to find a donor match in the future because those antibodies attack the foreign tissue. So what does it mean to be a Paired Kidney Donor, essentially what will happen is I will donate my kidney to someone who has a loved one that wants to donate to them, but is not a match for them but they are a match for Tom and I am a match for their friend or loved one. It's an amazing program that has the ability to help those that have difficulty finding a match through the National Donor List, speeding up the process of receiving a kidney. I have included a link with more information on this program.
Did you know...
More than 661,000 Americans have kidney failure. Of these, 468,000 individuals are on dialysis. More than 120,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants and 100,102 of them are waiting for a kidney transplant (as of 4/25/16). Every 10 mins a person is added to the national transplant list and 22 people die every day from kidney disease. More shocking! fewer than 17,000 people receive one each year, while the list continues to grow. Shocking! Isn't it? I had no idea.
Who is Tom
Tom is a 52 year old incredibly humble, kind and caring father, son, brother and friend to many. He's not perfect, but I think I may be rubbing off on him ;-) He has three incredible kids that he raised in his hometown of Bowling Green, OH, and he is extremely proud of them and both their personal and professional accomplishments. He is still raising his youngest daughter Maddy, who is an incredible volleyball player and nothing brings him more joy than watching her on the court. Tom first told me about his battle with kidney disease when we first met. In 2001 he was first diagnosed with kidney disease after suffering from flu like symptoms for a long period. It completely blindsided him! You see kidney disease is a silent killer, often there are no symptoms present and it can go undetected until it is very advanced. Which is what happened in Tom's case. His flu like symptoms were his first physical clue and when he finally went to the Drs. it was too late...he was in end stage kidney failure and needed to start dialysis immediately. It was at this time Tom was told his kidney disease was caused by hypertension/high blood pressure. You see Tom was a hardworking dedicated father for years. Owned his own small construction business and rarely went to the Drs. No reason too, as far as he knew he was a healthy man in his late 30's. He had always been physically active since he was a young kid and worked hard every day running his own construction company. The doctor told him he had probably been living with hypertension for many years, but because there are no signs or symptoms it often goes untreated. It isn't always as easy as a little pill to keep your hypertension controlled, in fact only 52% of Americans with hypertension have their condition under control. Toms life was turned upside down over night and has been a constant challenge since, but I am amazed by his perserverance and constant positive outlook.
What happened next...
Because it was too late to reverse or slow down the process...Tom needed a kidney and fast. Thankfully, he is the youngest of 8 siblings and his brother Steve donated a kidney. Tom had to receive dialysis for a while, but was fortunate to have a live donor. Unfortunately, the kidney transplant did not work out as planned and rejection happened a few short years later. Tom was in the same situation, but once again very fortunate to have another donor, his brother Tim. Of course, there is no cure for hypertension, while it can be treated and controlled most times it takes a toll on your kidneys and even more so when you have a donor kidney.
So it was inevitable that some day he would need a transplant again and so here we are....about 12 years later. Tom, learned his kidneys were failing in October 2014, when he had complications with an outpatient surgery that caused irreversible acute kidney damage. By January 2015, he was in complete kidney failure and had to begin dialysis treatments. Tom is unable to work, and when he does receive a kidney he will no longer be able to go back to what he knows, construction. He will need to find a job less stressful on him. He does receive some disabilty, but it's not enough to make ends meet by any means. The debt, the medical bills keep growing and once he does receive a transplant, he will have insurance premiums and very expensive anti- rejection medications to take for the rest of his life. Tom, is so eager to get his life back on track and we are both very excited about someday building a long, happy, healthy life together...until then I am trying to help Tom in any way I can.
How can you help?
First and foremost I want you to be aware of this often silent disease and learn more about how you can prevent this from happening to you or your loved ones. Hypertension is the 2nd leading cause of kidney disease following diabetes the 1st leading cause. 73 million American adults have high blood pressure and
20% of all Americans with high blood pressure don't know they have it. Since high blood pressure usually has no symptoms and can affect anyone at any age, it's important to have regular blood pressure check-ups.
Next, continued prayers. The power of prayer is amazing and we have been doing a lot of it lately.
I am also planning a Scrambles Golf Outing and Dinner Event to help alleviate some of the piling medical bills and everyday living expenses that have become overwhelming. I will share more information about the golf outing on this page later, if you're interested. You can also help by making a contribition to this gofundme account. No contribution is too small. Everything helps and continues to give hope to both Tom and I, that the happy and healthy future we both imagine is just around the corner.
Finally, I want to thank you so much if you had the patience to read the story of Tom's journey with kidney disease. It was just so very important for me to not only share Tom's story, but to also bring awareness to you and your loved ones about Kidney Disease. Thank you for your continued prayers and prayers a for a donor match in the near future.
I am Tom's biggest supporter, best friend, and confidant I have been there for him through his most recent fight against Kidney Disease since the beginning. I met Tom in November 2013, we clicked immediately and our friendship has grown tremendously since. We have been through the good, the bad, and the ugly together but mostly we have experienced many joys and made wonderful memories! I'll admit...I was scared in the beginning and my first thought was turn around and run the other direction as fast as you can, this is too much too handle. But my heart told me otherwise, so I chose to learn everything I could about this disease that affects millions of Americans, that is 26 million and most of them don't even know they have kidney disease. That number and statistic alone sent me on a journey to learn more about this disease and figure out how can I help.
How am I helping
Other than supporting Tom's whole well-being as best as I know possible and developing this gofundme page, I have decided to donate one of my kidneys on Tom's behalf. I am not a match for Tom, but I am going to hopefully help him speed up the process of finding a match by becoming a part of the Paired Kidney Donor Program. This is not Toms first transplant and may not be his last. You see, when a person is an organ or tissue recipient their body naturally develops an increased amount of antibodies to protect itself from the foreign object. When this happens it makes it even more difficult to find a donor match in the future because those antibodies attack the foreign tissue. So what does it mean to be a Paired Kidney Donor, essentially what will happen is I will donate my kidney to someone who has a loved one that wants to donate to them, but is not a match for them but they are a match for Tom and I am a match for their friend or loved one. It's an amazing program that has the ability to help those that have difficulty finding a match through the National Donor List, speeding up the process of receiving a kidney. I have included a link with more information on this program.
Did you know...
More than 661,000 Americans have kidney failure. Of these, 468,000 individuals are on dialysis. More than 120,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants and 100,102 of them are waiting for a kidney transplant (as of 4/25/16). Every 10 mins a person is added to the national transplant list and 22 people die every day from kidney disease. More shocking! fewer than 17,000 people receive one each year, while the list continues to grow. Shocking! Isn't it? I had no idea.
Who is Tom
Tom is a 52 year old incredibly humble, kind and caring father, son, brother and friend to many. He's not perfect, but I think I may be rubbing off on him ;-) He has three incredible kids that he raised in his hometown of Bowling Green, OH, and he is extremely proud of them and both their personal and professional accomplishments. He is still raising his youngest daughter Maddy, who is an incredible volleyball player and nothing brings him more joy than watching her on the court. Tom first told me about his battle with kidney disease when we first met. In 2001 he was first diagnosed with kidney disease after suffering from flu like symptoms for a long period. It completely blindsided him! You see kidney disease is a silent killer, often there are no symptoms present and it can go undetected until it is very advanced. Which is what happened in Tom's case. His flu like symptoms were his first physical clue and when he finally went to the Drs. it was too late...he was in end stage kidney failure and needed to start dialysis immediately. It was at this time Tom was told his kidney disease was caused by hypertension/high blood pressure. You see Tom was a hardworking dedicated father for years. Owned his own small construction business and rarely went to the Drs. No reason too, as far as he knew he was a healthy man in his late 30's. He had always been physically active since he was a young kid and worked hard every day running his own construction company. The doctor told him he had probably been living with hypertension for many years, but because there are no signs or symptoms it often goes untreated. It isn't always as easy as a little pill to keep your hypertension controlled, in fact only 52% of Americans with hypertension have their condition under control. Toms life was turned upside down over night and has been a constant challenge since, but I am amazed by his perserverance and constant positive outlook.
What happened next...
Because it was too late to reverse or slow down the process...Tom needed a kidney and fast. Thankfully, he is the youngest of 8 siblings and his brother Steve donated a kidney. Tom had to receive dialysis for a while, but was fortunate to have a live donor. Unfortunately, the kidney transplant did not work out as planned and rejection happened a few short years later. Tom was in the same situation, but once again very fortunate to have another donor, his brother Tim. Of course, there is no cure for hypertension, while it can be treated and controlled most times it takes a toll on your kidneys and even more so when you have a donor kidney.
So it was inevitable that some day he would need a transplant again and so here we are....about 12 years later. Tom, learned his kidneys were failing in October 2014, when he had complications with an outpatient surgery that caused irreversible acute kidney damage. By January 2015, he was in complete kidney failure and had to begin dialysis treatments. Tom is unable to work, and when he does receive a kidney he will no longer be able to go back to what he knows, construction. He will need to find a job less stressful on him. He does receive some disabilty, but it's not enough to make ends meet by any means. The debt, the medical bills keep growing and once he does receive a transplant, he will have insurance premiums and very expensive anti- rejection medications to take for the rest of his life. Tom, is so eager to get his life back on track and we are both very excited about someday building a long, happy, healthy life together...until then I am trying to help Tom in any way I can.
How can you help?
First and foremost I want you to be aware of this often silent disease and learn more about how you can prevent this from happening to you or your loved ones. Hypertension is the 2nd leading cause of kidney disease following diabetes the 1st leading cause. 73 million American adults have high blood pressure and
20% of all Americans with high blood pressure don't know they have it. Since high blood pressure usually has no symptoms and can affect anyone at any age, it's important to have regular blood pressure check-ups.
Next, continued prayers. The power of prayer is amazing and we have been doing a lot of it lately.
I am also planning a Scrambles Golf Outing and Dinner Event to help alleviate some of the piling medical bills and everyday living expenses that have become overwhelming. I will share more information about the golf outing on this page later, if you're interested. You can also help by making a contribition to this gofundme account. No contribution is too small. Everything helps and continues to give hope to both Tom and I, that the happy and healthy future we both imagine is just around the corner.
Finally, I want to thank you so much if you had the patience to read the story of Tom's journey with kidney disease. It was just so very important for me to not only share Tom's story, but to also bring awareness to you and your loved ones about Kidney Disease. Thank you for your continued prayers and prayers a for a donor match in the near future.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jenny Kuhl Hansen
Organizer
Bowling Green, OH
Tom Dunn
Beneficiary