My Story
A short backstory here would be helpful as I wish to provide you with some insights into who I am. I am the fourth generation on my mother’s side of the family to have chronic kidney disease. My great-grandmother, my grandfather my mother, and her brother have all died of kidney failure. However, there is one bright spot. That is my 87 year old aunt who received a kidney transplant over 20 years ago. She is living her life to the fullest.
This inherited disease cannot be reversed once it has begun. Yes, there is dialysis but that is a stop gap measure. Dialysis involves being connected to a machine for hours at a time and is done every other day of the week. However, a donated kidney from a benevolent person, such as yourself, can allow a person such as myself to live a very full and satisfying life starting immediately after transplant surgery.
I am making this plea because I have borne witness to the impact a donated organ can have in someone’s life. My aunt was on dialysis for six years before she received her gift of life. Many times throughout the dialysis process she came dangerously close to death. Her quality of life was far from what anyone would wish for themselves or anyone else. The whole process not only left her exhausted but required a four hour procedure every other day.
My aunt’s life dramatically transformed when she got the gift of life from a complete stranger. She has been given an additional 20 plus years of life with us. She is healthy and flourishing. She remains a vital part of my family. She gives me hope for my future. I pray each day that her journey will become mine.
As is so common in life, I am facing one of the many inevitable obstacles that pop up from time to time. Despite all my efforts, there is nothing I can do on my own to change the situation I am in. That is why I am making this very large ask. My own family shares this same inherited kidney disease. My sister, my niece and cousins cannot give me a kidney because one day they may face what I am now facing . My extended family would love to help me but my wife, and two of her siblings are cancer survivors which make them ineligible to donate. The one brother who has never had cancer and was prepared to donate his kidney to me but found out he too was ineligible because he had a history of kidney stones when he was a younger man.
These are the reasons I am making this broad appeal for the gift of life. I retired two years ago and my wife has marked her eighth year milestone as a lung cancer survivor. She was only given three to six months to live but yet she is by my side and thriving. I would love to think that I still may have an additional twenty years on this planet to enjoy. So I am hoping that one compassionate and benevolent person may step forward and give me the gift of life. If you are that person, God bless you and your family and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your amazing generosity in helping your fellow human!
