Kidney Surgery for Jude

Hi friends and family!

 

We've recently learned that our Jude Dude has severe kidney reflux (grade 5 vesicoureteral reflux, to be precise). This comes after two mystery infections Jude has experienced over the last few years, the most recent being last November. Thankfully our sweet family doctor worked with us to get to the bottom of what was causing his high fevers, which is what led us to various diagnostic tests and the kidney reflux diagnosis.

 

It's such a relief to finally understand what has been going on in Jude's body and to know that it is fixable. We've been scheduled for ureteral reimplantation surgery on July 25th, which will correct the reflux on Jude's right side (and also check the anatomy of the left side to be sure there is no hidden reflux there as well). It's not a minor surgery, and will involve two to three days in the hospital according to our urologist.

 

But with the relief of having a way forward for Jude, we're also facing some impending medical bills that have us doing all kinds of gymnastics with our budget. We have been so immensely grateful for the success of our family's window washing business and Cameron's hard work running it. But with the way the medical system works and the numbers we're hearing for the surgery, it's beginning to look like this is going to be a weighty financial burden with far-reaching implications. Just a couple of months ago, before all of this was discovered, we were able to sell our home and move into a friend's rental house. Selling the house allowed us to purchase a few acres of land where we hoped to begin construction this year. But with most of our financial assets now invested in the land, we've struggled to weigh Jude's immediate need for kidney surgery with our family's long-term need for permanent housing.

 

So that brings me to the need. It's a little strange and humbling to ask for assistance in this way, since I know there are so many families with so many needs, many of them much greater than ours. But we have prayerfully talked through the ins and outs of this situation, and wanted to bring it to you all, our friends and family, to consider whether you would like to contribute in any way.

 

$6,500 will bring us a little closer to our "deductible" through our healthshare. As far as we know, once we reach the deductible the healthshare should cover all medical bills that go over that amount.

 

Please know that we share this without any expectation, and would be so grateful for your prayers as we go through this surgery with Jude! Please pray:

 

 

This feels like such a large and complicated thing to sum up in a small space, so please feel free to reach out to me or Cam if you have any questions. We're so thankful to have each of you in our lives.

 

Much love,

 

Beth & Cameron Cole (and Shiloh, Jude, and Eden)