Andrew's Getting A Kidney

This campaign is being started to help my baby brother, Andrew and his fiancé, Emily. Many of you know my brother as the big cuddly teddy bear who would literally do anything to help anyone he cares about but for the past few years he's been going through an incredibly difficult time.

About 3-4 years ago Andrew found out that he was in stage 3 kidney failure but had been living a relatively normal life even with that diagnosis. In  December of 2017 things changed and he started to experience a lot more swelling than normal. He went to his kidney doctor who proceeded to do many tests. Unfortunately Andrew was too heavy to have a biopsy of his kidney done which would give the most thorough answers. Andrew has battled with weight his entire life but he started to really crack down and try to lose some weight both for his health and to get some answers. He was finally able to have a kidney biopsy done and then was dealt a devastating blow. In July of 2018, just two months after he had gotten engaged and one month after his 31st birthday, my little brother found out that his kidneys were 75% scarred and there was no way they would recover. His only hope at this point would be to get a kidney transplant in the future.

After Andrew received this life altering news he was then dealt another blow, that he would not even be able to meet with a transplant team to begin the process of getting on transplant lists until he lost another 70lbs. At his heaviest my brother was 520lbs. He had managed to lose 120lbs over the previous few years but losing 70lbs is no easy feat. Nevertheless with the help of his amazing fiancé, Emily, they completely changed their diet and lifestyle and Andrew started to continuously drop weight. By October of 2018 he had lost about 50lbs but his kidneys were at the point that they would not continue to function on their own so he began peritoneal dialysis. This form of dialysis goes through Andrews stomach and he hooks himself up to his dialysis machine for 8 hours every night. This is often met with pain throughout the night and waking often and it is most definitely not an inexpensive process. The cost of dialysis is about $250,000 every 2 1/2 months. Much of this is covered under Andrews insurance but he still gets a bill for almost $5,000 every 2 1/2 months. 

In January 2019 Andrew had met his weight goal and was able to meet with a transplant team and get on a transplant list. While this was great news, the waitlist for a kidney is often years so we started spreading the word to friends and family to see if anyone was interested in getting tested to be a living donor. About a week ago we found out the most fantastic news. Andrew's fiancé, Emily, is a match and is going to donate a kidney! This amazing woman, who is already a godsend for being able to handle my brother ;) , is literally going to save his life. 

This news is absolutely amazing but since these are big surgeries, Andrew and Emily could really use some help. Andrew already has quite the stack of medical bills that have piled up from dialysis. He currently owes a little over $12,000 and the debt is just going to continue to grow with surgery, which is scheduled to take place on September 5 at University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. On top of that, his insurance doesn't cover all of the prescription drug costs for the medication he will have to take post surgery. Andrew has exhausted all of his sick and vacation time with various kidney appointments and the company he works for does not provide FMLA.  This means that during his recovery time, which is a MINIMUM of 6-8 weeks, he will have no income. Emily does have some paid time off that she is able to use and has FMLA but her income could be affected as well.

My brother has always been there for me and is one of my best friends and I am so excited to soon be able to call Emily my sister. I wanted to start this campaign to help raise money to supplement Andrew's lost wages and to help with the cost of all the medical expenses that he and Emily are facing. Any amount that you can donate would be greatly appreciated. If you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this campaign with others and we would love any prayers and good vibes you can send to Andrew and Emily. Thank you to all who have already sent encouraging words to him throughout this process. I know it means the world to him. Love to all.


https://instagram.com/getlinderakidney?igshid=16wjz2cdz52cc