Verica's liver transplantation
Donation protected
Elementary school Filip Kljajic Fica, class of 1979, VIII/4 class mates - Belgrade, Serbia.
Fundraising event, Verica standing dressed in white
We all remember elementary school, time when during every school break boys were playing with marbles on any patch of dirt available, dueled on school steps who can flip and win more collector cards while girls were playing elastics rope or jumping playing hopschotch, ...
Time when playing with friends was the only thing that mattered.
Then came high school, studies, first job, families, kids, ... many of us do not live in our town any more.
Some of our elementary school friends we did not see almost 40 years, some we may not be able to recognize at first sight, ... but we remember names and we remember that we were friends in time when friendship was innocent and unconditional. No matter how much time has passed, how many new people we have met and befriended in our lives, elementary school friends are forever related to us as part of our childhood family.
A member of that elementary school family club from my childhood, Verica Radulovic, needs our help.
She has been diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PCB).
It's not clear what causes it, PBC is autoimmune disease in which parts of our immune system turn against our own body, where T cells invade and destroy the cells lining the small bile ducts in our liver.
What is known is that the great majority of people with primary biliary cirrhosis are women and that it is most likely to occur between age 30 to 60.
Because no cure exists for primary biliary cirrhosis and because treatment focused on slowing the progress of the disease is no longer controlling Verica’s primary biliary cirrhosis, her liver is failing and her only chance now is a liver transplant in next 12 to 18 months.
In order to prepare for this operation Verica can not get sick, she needs dental surgery to stop processes that are preventing liver transplant preparation, she needs to build up her immune system, she needs vitamins and supplements, she needs healthy food, as Type 2 diabetic she also needs to keep her insulin in check, she needs ... so many things, but she has no means to get them.
Verica is now 53 years old, unable to work and she is living on her disability income which is equivalent to $150.00 per month, half of which she needs to use to pay off a loan she took to cover her past medical expenses.
This is very small amount of money for US, and even though it is a bit cheaper to live in Belgrade, Serbia, if $150.00 a month is someone's total income, that is close to noting even for Serbian standards.
Verica is living alone and does not have anyone else that can help her, in this dire time she has reached out to her elementary school friends asking if anyone can help her out so she can prepare and better her chances for liver transplant operation.
My hope is that with good will of all of her friends, friends of her friends and all the others to whom this plea will reach we can fulfill and exceed goal of this campaign.
Because Verica does not have access to US based bank accounts and because Serbia is not on list of countries who's banking system is supported by GoFundMe, once donations have been collected I will withdraw them from GoFundMe account and transfer this money to Verica's bank account in Belgrade with "Banca Intesa ad Beograd" or I will try to find some secure way of personally delivering it to her in order to avoid further money transfer fees (GoFundMe automatically takes 5% deduction from any donation, then they take additional 3% fee for each money transfer to any US bank account, which makes it close to 9% total witheld by GoFundMe). Simply, if money is further transferred from US bank account to bank in Serbia there will be more banking fees and less money for Verica.
Fundraising event, Verica standing dressed in white
We all remember elementary school, time when during every school break boys were playing with marbles on any patch of dirt available, dueled on school steps who can flip and win more collector cards while girls were playing elastics rope or jumping playing hopschotch, ...
Time when playing with friends was the only thing that mattered.
Then came high school, studies, first job, families, kids, ... many of us do not live in our town any more.
Some of our elementary school friends we did not see almost 40 years, some we may not be able to recognize at first sight, ... but we remember names and we remember that we were friends in time when friendship was innocent and unconditional. No matter how much time has passed, how many new people we have met and befriended in our lives, elementary school friends are forever related to us as part of our childhood family.
A member of that elementary school family club from my childhood, Verica Radulovic, needs our help.
She has been diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PCB).
It's not clear what causes it, PBC is autoimmune disease in which parts of our immune system turn against our own body, where T cells invade and destroy the cells lining the small bile ducts in our liver.
What is known is that the great majority of people with primary biliary cirrhosis are women and that it is most likely to occur between age 30 to 60.
Because no cure exists for primary biliary cirrhosis and because treatment focused on slowing the progress of the disease is no longer controlling Verica’s primary biliary cirrhosis, her liver is failing and her only chance now is a liver transplant in next 12 to 18 months.
In order to prepare for this operation Verica can not get sick, she needs dental surgery to stop processes that are preventing liver transplant preparation, she needs to build up her immune system, she needs vitamins and supplements, she needs healthy food, as Type 2 diabetic she also needs to keep her insulin in check, she needs ... so many things, but she has no means to get them.
Verica is now 53 years old, unable to work and she is living on her disability income which is equivalent to $150.00 per month, half of which she needs to use to pay off a loan she took to cover her past medical expenses.
This is very small amount of money for US, and even though it is a bit cheaper to live in Belgrade, Serbia, if $150.00 a month is someone's total income, that is close to noting even for Serbian standards.
Verica is living alone and does not have anyone else that can help her, in this dire time she has reached out to her elementary school friends asking if anyone can help her out so she can prepare and better her chances for liver transplant operation.
My hope is that with good will of all of her friends, friends of her friends and all the others to whom this plea will reach we can fulfill and exceed goal of this campaign.
Because Verica does not have access to US based bank accounts and because Serbia is not on list of countries who's banking system is supported by GoFundMe, once donations have been collected I will withdraw them from GoFundMe account and transfer this money to Verica's bank account in Belgrade with "Banca Intesa ad Beograd" or I will try to find some secure way of personally delivering it to her in order to avoid further money transfer fees (GoFundMe automatically takes 5% deduction from any donation, then they take additional 3% fee for each money transfer to any US bank account, which makes it close to 9% total witheld by GoFundMe). Simply, if money is further transferred from US bank account to bank in Serbia there will be more banking fees and less money for Verica.
Organizer
dusan jaksic
Organizer
Northville, MI
