Katie's Donating A Kidney
Donation protected
Dearest Family and Friends,
My daughter, Katie, is donating one of her kidneys to a family friend. To say she is a giver is an understatement, and we are so very proud of her. I am reaching out to you as she needs your help. She would never, ever ask for help, so I am asking on her behalf. Please read her story below:
"Well I’ve been keeping a really big secret! And truth be told I had planned on going into surgery with only immediate family knowing. But, that’s just not possible now. I’ve never been one to ask for help, I’m always trying to help others and live a life of kindness. Turns out in order for me to do my next act of kindness, I need a little help in return! Back in December I saw a Facebook post from a childhood friend’s mother. Her post stated that her husband needed a kidney. At first glance I just shared her post cause I couldn’t donate. But why couldn’t I? I thought since I had cancer 14 years ago that I couldn’t possibly donate a kidney. Well, a month after I shared her post I thought why couldn’t I at least try? I already knew we had the same blood type from her post, so on a whim I filled out the online donor application! A few days later a very nice man from the Maine Transplant Center called me and we talked through my medical history and he told me just because I had cancer in the past didn’t mean I couldn’t donate! And so started my 7 month testing process to become a kidney donor! Here’s what my process to becoming a donor has been:
*January 2020
applied on website
*February 2020
Records review from PCP & OBGYN (only because of my previous cancer)
Fasting blood test
Urine sample
*March 2020
24 hour blood pressure monitor
*April 2020
Appointment and testing with OBGYN (only because of my previous cancer)
*May 2020
10 vile cross match blood test
*June 2020
blood test
24 hour urine collection and blood test
Another 24 hour urine collection and blood test
2 hour fasting glucose test
Another 2 hour fasting glucose test
*July 2020
Glofil kidney function testing
Evaluation at Maine Transplant with entire team and doctors/surgeons
Blood test
Urine test
EKG
Chest X-ray
CT Scan
Split kidney function test
Things went slow March through May due to Covid-19! I was presented to the surgical review board on 07/27/20 and approved to donate my right kidney so now surgery is scheduled for September 1st!
So, with all that being said, I am a perfect match for my friend’s father (such a perfect match I look like I should be related! I’m not though!). But... because I haven’t been with my current employer for a year, I don’t qualify for FMLA and only have one week of sick leave available, so I’m having to take an unpaid medical leave in order to donate. I also don’t qualify for financial assistance from the NLDAC (National Living Donor Assistance Center) Of course Covid-19 can’t make things easy so I also have to quarantine for 2 weeks prior to surgery due to it being a major surgery and it will be happening in Portland. The recovery from surgery is 4-6 weeks (but my medical team thinks I’ll only need 4). So that’s a total of 6-8 weeks out of work with no paycheck. That’s where you come in! I need donations! If you want to help, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart! And if you can’t afford to help right now, please feel free to share this campaign and keep the recipient and I in your prayers as our surgery date approaches! You have NO idea how hard it was for me to do this online campaign! But the alternative was not donating and my family and I decided I wasn’t going to let financial hardships be the reason I didn’t donate, so even if I don’t raise a penny, I’m still donating! I’m extremely nervous for this major surgery but have spent months praying on this decision and I know it’s the right one! Thank you for reading this far and thank you for your support. There are currently over 100,000 people waiting for a kidney donation, maybe the next living donor is YOU! **please note, this is for lost wages, health insurance premiums, and out of pocket expenses only such as mileage, meals, and hotels out of town. Any additional money raised will be donated back to the NLDAC! " Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
My daughter, Katie, is donating one of her kidneys to a family friend. To say she is a giver is an understatement, and we are so very proud of her. I am reaching out to you as she needs your help. She would never, ever ask for help, so I am asking on her behalf. Please read her story below:
"Well I’ve been keeping a really big secret! And truth be told I had planned on going into surgery with only immediate family knowing. But, that’s just not possible now. I’ve never been one to ask for help, I’m always trying to help others and live a life of kindness. Turns out in order for me to do my next act of kindness, I need a little help in return! Back in December I saw a Facebook post from a childhood friend’s mother. Her post stated that her husband needed a kidney. At first glance I just shared her post cause I couldn’t donate. But why couldn’t I? I thought since I had cancer 14 years ago that I couldn’t possibly donate a kidney. Well, a month after I shared her post I thought why couldn’t I at least try? I already knew we had the same blood type from her post, so on a whim I filled out the online donor application! A few days later a very nice man from the Maine Transplant Center called me and we talked through my medical history and he told me just because I had cancer in the past didn’t mean I couldn’t donate! And so started my 7 month testing process to become a kidney donor! Here’s what my process to becoming a donor has been:
*January 2020
applied on website
*February 2020
Records review from PCP & OBGYN (only because of my previous cancer)
Fasting blood test
Urine sample
*March 2020
24 hour blood pressure monitor
*April 2020
Appointment and testing with OBGYN (only because of my previous cancer)
*May 2020
10 vile cross match blood test
*June 2020
blood test
24 hour urine collection and blood test
Another 24 hour urine collection and blood test
2 hour fasting glucose test
Another 2 hour fasting glucose test
*July 2020
Glofil kidney function testing
Evaluation at Maine Transplant with entire team and doctors/surgeons
Blood test
Urine test
EKG
Chest X-ray
CT Scan
Split kidney function test
Things went slow March through May due to Covid-19! I was presented to the surgical review board on 07/27/20 and approved to donate my right kidney so now surgery is scheduled for September 1st!
So, with all that being said, I am a perfect match for my friend’s father (such a perfect match I look like I should be related! I’m not though!). But... because I haven’t been with my current employer for a year, I don’t qualify for FMLA and only have one week of sick leave available, so I’m having to take an unpaid medical leave in order to donate. I also don’t qualify for financial assistance from the NLDAC (National Living Donor Assistance Center) Of course Covid-19 can’t make things easy so I also have to quarantine for 2 weeks prior to surgery due to it being a major surgery and it will be happening in Portland. The recovery from surgery is 4-6 weeks (but my medical team thinks I’ll only need 4). So that’s a total of 6-8 weeks out of work with no paycheck. That’s where you come in! I need donations! If you want to help, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart! And if you can’t afford to help right now, please feel free to share this campaign and keep the recipient and I in your prayers as our surgery date approaches! You have NO idea how hard it was for me to do this online campaign! But the alternative was not donating and my family and I decided I wasn’t going to let financial hardships be the reason I didn’t donate, so even if I don’t raise a penny, I’m still donating! I’m extremely nervous for this major surgery but have spent months praying on this decision and I know it’s the right one! Thank you for reading this far and thank you for your support. There are currently over 100,000 people waiting for a kidney donation, maybe the next living donor is YOU! **please note, this is for lost wages, health insurance premiums, and out of pocket expenses only such as mileage, meals, and hotels out of town. Any additional money raised will be donated back to the NLDAC! " Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Organizer and beneficiary
Patti N Maynard Corey
Organizer
Brewer, ME
Katie Freeman
Beneficiary