Aid for Andrea's Kidney Transplant
#UnbreakableAndrea on Facebook!
Loving and fun-loving.
Spirited and Spirit-filled.
Full of life, now struggling for life.
Andrea (Barr) Wyatt, a vibrant 30-year-old, counts the days until her kidney transplant. A graduate of Atlee High School and Virginia Commonwealth University, Andrea devoted more than a year to teaching English to students in South Korea. During this life-changing experience, in 2010, she began experiencing symptoms of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. After returning to the States, three years of countless diagnoses, treatments, and hospitalizations ensued. Six months after marrying her college sweetheart, Wren Wyatt, she was diagnosed with lupus nephritis: an immune disorder that mistakenly attacks her kidneys with life-threatening consequences. In 2015, Andrea’s kidneys failed completely, succumbing to end-stage renal disease, but her courage and resolve never wavered.
Now waiting for a kidney match, Andrea endures dialysis three afternoons every week, four hours per session … while working full-time! As external machines pump and cleanse her blood, everyone marvels: Andrea never complains, never gives up. “I don’t live with lupus; lupus lives with me,” she says. “My positivity, perseverance, and faith in God have helped me and my family through this journey.”
Andrea and Wren (a 2006 University of Virginia graduate now working towards his master’s degree at VCU) face seemingly insurmountable financial difficulties, as ANY of us would in a similar situation.
Even with the help of insurance, the medical bills and costs associated begin to pile up. Major factors include:
- Dialysis three times a week, every week
- Prescription expenses
- Multiple hospital stays
- Unpaid medical leave
- And especially the upcoming kidney transplant (averaging $100,000+ for the surgery, plus lifelong follow-up care & medication)
On behalf of Andrea and Wren, we do not ask for your kidney … but we do ask for your financial support. Your gift will help Andrea and Wren refocus on one goal: LIFE.