Twins Share Everthing........Even Kidneys

In 2014 my twin Courtney received devastating news about his kidneys. The Dr. told him that both of his kidneys were only functioning at 10%. At this point he was told he would have to go on dialysis. Courtney has been on dialysis almost 5 years, and has had many infections due to the peritoneal dialysis that he does at home. He has been on the transplant list for 4 years in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. In January 2018 Courtney relocated to Houston, Texas with family members where he was also placed on Texas list with hopes of receiving a kidney faster. In July of 2018 Courtney returned to Chicago to celebrate the holiday with his family and friends. Within 24 hours of his arrival he was admitted back into the hospital for 7 days with yet another infection. Upon his release my brother contacted me to ask if it was ok for him to stay with me until he went back to Texas. Of course, I agreed and this is when I really found out how serious my brother illness was. I think God placed him with me for a reason so that I can be a blessing to him. Seeing what my brother went through on a daily basis to live, I had to help him in some type of way. The first night he came he was setting up his machine for dialysis. After hooking the machine and starting it, he let out a scream and cry that was so painful it hurt my soul. I knew then that something had to be done. At that point my brother decided that he was going to just give up on life because he was tired of going through this. His son Taijean had plans to go get tested as soon as he turned 18 which was August 29, 2018, but after seeing what he went through I had to take the initiative and get tested. On July 21, 2018 I went to get tested to see if I was a match to donate a kidney to save my twin. On August 2, 2018 we celebrated our 40th birthday, and received the best news that we got all year, I was a perfect match. Things were starting to look up for Courtney then just 12 days later he received news that his son Taijean was murdered, just before his 18th birthday. Since then Courtney has struggled with reality of now living without his son and fighting for his chance to survive and live a normal life. I thank God for allowing me the health to be able to help my brother live normally. The main tests are done for me to donate and we now have a tentative transplant date of February 7, 2019. This may cause a financial strain on both me and Courtney. I am a homeowner and mother of 3 children and Courtney is a father of 11-year-old twins that he takes care of. I will be off work for 6-8 weeks earning only $200 per week from my short-term disability at work. We are asking for help of any amount to maintain our daily lives as we heal from the procedure. No amount is to small. We appreciate all those that can help and those that can’t but was willing to. Please watch for updates on Courtney’s Journey.     

Thanks in advance
Courtina Hall