Help Jesse Reclaim His Life After Kidney Failure

In March 2024, Jesse found himself battling a series of baffling symptoms: relentless insomnia, unbearably itchy skin that he scratched until it bled, and moments of mental fog—like the time he stared at a light switch, unsure how to turn off the lights. What he didn’t realize was that these were warning signs—his body was slipping into double kidney failure.

One evening in mid-March, Jesse’s wife, Liz, heard a strange noise in the house and went to investigate. What she found in the bathroom was nothing short of a disaster.

The shower rod and curtain were crumpled on the floor. Water was everywhere, and shelves were ripped from the walls. Thinking Jesse might have slipped in the shower, Liz found him in bed, still wet and soapy. When she woke him to ask what had happened, Jesse’s response was unnerving—he couldn’t remember anything. No slips, no falls—nothing.

The gaps in his memory were troubling enough to warrant a trip to the ER, where they discovered both his kidneys had failed. The toxicity building in his body had caused him to black out in the shower.

Jesse spent two weeks in the hospital, where he began dialysis and underwent evaluation for a kidney transplant.

Unable to get back to work until he stabilized, four relatives came forward as donors. As the evaluation process progressed, the transplant team delivered bad news. Because Jesse was previously diagnosed with sarcoidosis of the liver, Jesse couldn’t receive a kidney from a living donor. He would need a kidney and eventually a liver, which means they must come from a single donor. Since then, he has relied on dialysis to sustain him while waiting for his turn on the transplant list.

But That’s Good News!

Jesse is now eligible for home dialysis and is in the process of training to operate his own dialysis machine. Once fully equipped for at-home blood therapy, he’ll be free to return to work and reclaim his life! His return-to-work date is scheduled for February. He is so close to living fully again!

But after a year of medical bills and being out of work, Jesse and his wife have exhausted their savings and are struggling to stay afloat. We’re asking for your help to cover this final stretch. The goal is to keep their house and the lights on—especially for the dialysis equipment. Many people live fulfilling lives on home dialysis, and we’re so excited for Jesse to get back to work and spend time with his friends and family.

Any support you can offer will mean the world to us as we push through this final stretch. Thank you for helping Jesse get back on his feet!