Help Antonio get a kidney
Hi, my name is Jasmine (Riviere) Marcelin and I'm fundraising for my older brother Antonio Riviere. He needs a kidney transplant, but even if you are not able to help with that, I'm hoping to raise some funds to help him with his medical expenses as he is now starting on peritoneal dialysis. Dialysis is a medical procedure that helps to clean your blood and remove waste when your kidneys do not work. With peritoneal dialysis, my brother had a catheter inserted into his belly and has to flush his body with fluid daily to help get rid of the waste in his blood.
Growing up hearing that high blood pressure runs in the family did not seem to mean a lot until you become an adult and are told that you have high blood pressure. Over the years, my brother's kidney function worsened due to the high blood pressure and eventually his doctor announced to him that he would need a kidney transplant to live a normal life, and that until he got this transplant he would need dialysis to keep him alive. He is hoping for a living donor but we his family members are not able to donate. So he is relying on the gift of a stranger, an angel, to make this a reality.
It is hard as the baby sister to see my brother like this. The kidney failure has taken a toll on him physically, mentally, emotionally. He has lost over 20 pounds and his ability to work is significantly limited. This last piece, not working, is the most devastating for him because he has worked since he was 17 years old, and most of that time he has been self-employed and the primary source of income for his soulmate and wife of 18 years Jenny and their 17-yr old daughter Renee. All my brother has ever wanted was to be able to provide for his family, and with the limitations he is now experiencing from his kidney failure, he is unable to do this. He told me what he worries about every day: "Who will provide for my family if I cannot work? Will I get a living donor? Now that I have started dialysis, how will that disrupt life? Will the business survive? How will the bills be paid?"
Antonio would never ask for help, so I am asking on his behalf. Maybe you're an angel who is able to be his living kidney donor and grant him a full life (if you think you may be able to do so, reach out at [email redacted]). If that is not possible, maybe you might be able to give a monetary donation. It's not the same as a kidney but it would keep the lights on and the water bill paid. It would help him put gas in the tank for the trips to the clinics. It will help him to keep health insurance so he can pay for his medical expenses, and help pay his mortgage so they don't lose their home. Anything you can contribute will help, because they have exhausted their savings reserve with no reliable income.
Thank you for reading this far into Antonio's story. My brother's faith in God is unwavering, and he trusts so he does not lose hope. This faith extends to each of you reading this, with a hope that you may have the financial means to help him through this time. But if you don't, and you are a praying person, please offer up your prayers for my brother Antonio Riviere, and share his story with as many people as possible. His angel is out there.