Jon and Cynthia's Kidney Transplant
Donation protected
Jon and Cynthia Faulkner met in Ohio many years ago and very quickly, fell deeply in love. Their love was intense and everlasting. Shortly thereafter, they started their little family, growing over the years to four adorable children; Caitlin 9, Elliana 6, Mason 5, and Adaline 2. They are a very close knit family who value spending time together, growing through each experience and learning to appreciate life and all it has to offer.
Jon and Cynthia are an embodiment of good parenting and family values. Jon, 40, simply adores his wife and children. When times allows, he can be found hitting a few rounds of golf, exercising regularly, and creating new memories with the little ones. Cynthia, 30, spends her time between working, raising their children, and training for her first Triathlon in Florida. She is an avid cyclist and enjoys living in the Florida sun.
However, their story isn’t all hearts and flowers, even the strongest of love, sometimes encounter their share of misfortune. Three years ago, Jon was diagnosed with a Kidney disease. At the time, he was told it was a worry down the road. Eventually he would need a transplant, but it wasn’t an immediate need. But that’s not exactly how it panned out. Countless doctor visits and endless hospital stays later, it was discovered that his kidneys are not functioning at all and a decision was made that Jon indeed needed a transplant, and quickly. In January of 2014, the Faulkners begun the grueling, extensive and emotionally draining process of transplant approval and testing.
Cynthia immedetly knew that she could be Jon's donor. She is the universal donor with O positive blood type. She organized blood drives at Ohio State and was always passionate about being a universal donor and being able to help so many lives. During this process, they learned Jon’s blood type is O Negative. Cynthia, a huge activist for organ donation, has always felt that she was meant to donate, although she never expected it to be to her husband and father of her children. She of course knew that live donation was the best scenario for long term survival and already made the deicision to donate. Jon though, had serious concerns about putting his wife in jeopardy, but as they soon found out, that was his only option. The O Positive and O Negative patients can give to anyone but can only receive from other O blood types. The wait list for a cadaver O Positive or Negative kidney is 7-9 years, and with four small children, this isn’t a risk they can take. The life expectancy of a patient on dialysis past 10 years is extremely low. On average at least 20-40% of patients die before receiving a transplant. After serious consideration, Jon agreed that Cynthia donating her kidney was the only viable option.
Jon’s dialysis started in October of last year, while patiently waiting on transplant approval. (If you know of anyone on dialysis or that has been through the process, give them extra credit for being amazing. You truly have to be a warrior to live connected to a machine that keeps you alive.) In January of 2015, the hospital in Cincinnati, DENIED Jon his transplant due to inconclusive data on his case. This was extremely stressful and devastating news for the entire family. They were told they weren’t able to re-apply for another 6 months, and proceed with restarting the year long process all over again.
At this point, both Jon and Cynthia felt defeated and incredibly devastated. However, not one to ever give up, Cynthia jumped head first into researching everything she could on the matter. She soon discovered that Tampa General Hospital did extensive cases of kidney transplants each year, and this propelled her in making the decision to move the family to Florida in search of a transplant team that could help. Since relocating to Tampa in February of 2015, Jon and Cynthia were finally granted approval and are now awaiting surgery sometime in October.
They are elated and feel incredibly fortunate, but also nervous and overwhelmed. As you can probably imagine, in a family with four small children and both parents undergoing simultaneous lifesaving surgeries is no small undertaking.
Both Cynthia and Jon have given so much to their communities, between Cincinnati and Tampa. Just recently Cynthia was an integral part of rescuing the 27 elementary school children from their overturned bus in the Eagles pond. She didn’t think twice and her immediate reaction was to dive into water, climb into the bus and rescue the terrified children. That is the definition of a hero, but she insists she’s not a hero, she’s just a mother.
We have setup a GoFundMe page, to collect donations that will aid the Faulkner family with this immense accrued medical debt, household and childcare expenses. Please help Jon and Cynthia get through this very difficult time by donating whatever you can and helping Caitlin, Elliana, Mason and Adaline get their parents back, healthy and full of life.
Carpe Diem, Cynthia’s life’s motto, seems very appropriate with recent events that have taken place.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity.
- Family and Friends of Jon and Cynthia Faulkner
Jon and Cynthia are an embodiment of good parenting and family values. Jon, 40, simply adores his wife and children. When times allows, he can be found hitting a few rounds of golf, exercising regularly, and creating new memories with the little ones. Cynthia, 30, spends her time between working, raising their children, and training for her first Triathlon in Florida. She is an avid cyclist and enjoys living in the Florida sun.
However, their story isn’t all hearts and flowers, even the strongest of love, sometimes encounter their share of misfortune. Three years ago, Jon was diagnosed with a Kidney disease. At the time, he was told it was a worry down the road. Eventually he would need a transplant, but it wasn’t an immediate need. But that’s not exactly how it panned out. Countless doctor visits and endless hospital stays later, it was discovered that his kidneys are not functioning at all and a decision was made that Jon indeed needed a transplant, and quickly. In January of 2014, the Faulkners begun the grueling, extensive and emotionally draining process of transplant approval and testing.
Cynthia immedetly knew that she could be Jon's donor. She is the universal donor with O positive blood type. She organized blood drives at Ohio State and was always passionate about being a universal donor and being able to help so many lives. During this process, they learned Jon’s blood type is O Negative. Cynthia, a huge activist for organ donation, has always felt that she was meant to donate, although she never expected it to be to her husband and father of her children. She of course knew that live donation was the best scenario for long term survival and already made the deicision to donate. Jon though, had serious concerns about putting his wife in jeopardy, but as they soon found out, that was his only option. The O Positive and O Negative patients can give to anyone but can only receive from other O blood types. The wait list for a cadaver O Positive or Negative kidney is 7-9 years, and with four small children, this isn’t a risk they can take. The life expectancy of a patient on dialysis past 10 years is extremely low. On average at least 20-40% of patients die before receiving a transplant. After serious consideration, Jon agreed that Cynthia donating her kidney was the only viable option.
Jon’s dialysis started in October of last year, while patiently waiting on transplant approval. (If you know of anyone on dialysis or that has been through the process, give them extra credit for being amazing. You truly have to be a warrior to live connected to a machine that keeps you alive.) In January of 2015, the hospital in Cincinnati, DENIED Jon his transplant due to inconclusive data on his case. This was extremely stressful and devastating news for the entire family. They were told they weren’t able to re-apply for another 6 months, and proceed with restarting the year long process all over again.
At this point, both Jon and Cynthia felt defeated and incredibly devastated. However, not one to ever give up, Cynthia jumped head first into researching everything she could on the matter. She soon discovered that Tampa General Hospital did extensive cases of kidney transplants each year, and this propelled her in making the decision to move the family to Florida in search of a transplant team that could help. Since relocating to Tampa in February of 2015, Jon and Cynthia were finally granted approval and are now awaiting surgery sometime in October.
They are elated and feel incredibly fortunate, but also nervous and overwhelmed. As you can probably imagine, in a family with four small children and both parents undergoing simultaneous lifesaving surgeries is no small undertaking.
Both Cynthia and Jon have given so much to their communities, between Cincinnati and Tampa. Just recently Cynthia was an integral part of rescuing the 27 elementary school children from their overturned bus in the Eagles pond. She didn’t think twice and her immediate reaction was to dive into water, climb into the bus and rescue the terrified children. That is the definition of a hero, but she insists she’s not a hero, she’s just a mother.
We have setup a GoFundMe page, to collect donations that will aid the Faulkner family with this immense accrued medical debt, household and childcare expenses. Please help Jon and Cynthia get through this very difficult time by donating whatever you can and helping Caitlin, Elliana, Mason and Adaline get their parents back, healthy and full of life.
Carpe Diem, Cynthia’s life’s motto, seems very appropriate with recent events that have taken place.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity.
- Family and Friends of Jon and Cynthia Faulkner
Organizer and beneficiary
Corinne Jones
Organizer
Dayton, OH
Jon Faulkner
Beneficiary
