Kidney Pancreas Transplant Recovery Fund

Hey, people out there.  My beautiful friend, Megan, and her husband Gabe are in desperate need of financial help to relocate to Utah for ten months when Gabe gets the call for his kidney/pancreas transplant.  They are not asking for help for the surgery or for the initial hospital stay or even most of the medication that Gabe will be dependent on after his surgery.  They are not asking for this help because they have both spent the last several years preparing for this day, knowing that the day would come when Gabe’s Type 1 diabetes would finally cause irreparable damage to his kidney.  They only need help for living expenses, as Megan will be his primary caregiver and not working. Both love the communities of Carson City and Dayton, Nevada where they were raised and plan to return. They simply need some help for the time they are gone.  What follows is only part of what makes them so special.

Gabe thought he would only live long enough to see his son, Jordan, graduate from high school. He thought he wouldn’t meet the love of his life or be around to see the children he has coached grow into adults. He thought his life would be cut short from his disease after being diagnosed at the age of eight with Type 1 diabetes – a disease caused by a genetic defect where the pancreas does not produce the insulin the body needs to regulate blood sugar.  He was told that every day illnesses could become life threatening.  Gabe has lived with Type 1 diabetes for the last thirty-six years. He has battled the highs and lows of trying to regulate his blood sugar and has suffered from depression, gastroparesis, retinopathy, and neuropathy.  Yet, he remained 100% engaged in raising Jordan.  He found the love of his life, Megan, and the two have lived a beautiful love story. Megan has spent the last ten years educating herself, so that she could find work that would provide insurance so that Gabe could get the care he needs.

Eight years ago, however, Gabe was given a treatment that left him with Stage 3 kidney disease. Despite his decline and his doctor’s recommendation that he apply for disability, he continued to work to provide for his family; he continued to coach basketball; he continued to show up for his son and his wife. But diabetes is a monster that is always present and working to hurt the kidneys.  Eight months ago, Gabe’s kidney function fell to a level of 8% (Stage 5 kidney disease is diagnosed at 12 to 15%) and he was forced to start dialysis and he shows up religiously three times a week for four hours a day.

Now, though, he has a second chance with the transplant.  His doctors say he is the perfect candidate because he has done what he needs to do take care of himself; he has remained positive; he has been committed and engaged in living and beating this disease. 

Anything you can do, no matter how small, will help so that Gabe and Megan’s love story can continue, so that Gabe can return to his community in Dayton, NV and coach basketball, and so that Gabe will have many years past Jordan’s high school graduation to watch him grow.  Jordan graduates this June.