Frank Vines

LIVING Kidney DONOR NEEDED

I have never been the kind of person that likes to ask for help..... I need a kidney from a living donor.

I have never been the kind of person that likes to ask for help. I was always willing to offer aid wherever there was a need. Dead car battery…Plan class reunions…Coach my daughters’ softball teams….usher at church? I loved serving my family, friends and community wherever there was a need.

But in the years since I developed diabetes (15+ years ago), kidney disease, and now kidney failure I have been slowly robbed of my ability to be there for my “people”. I am now almost 71 and the past two years spent on peritoneal dialysis, have taken the largest toll on my physical and mental health. In mid-April, I was admitted to the hospital with peritonitis that just about got the best of me. I have transitioned to hemodialysis while my abdomen tries to heal from the infection. It broke my heart to have to tell my oldest grandson, that there is no way I can attend his high school graduation in a few weeks. I am simply too weak to walk more than a few steps or stand longer than a couple of minutes. Like many others in my situation, I have experienced a gauntlet of emotions that now dominate my once active lifestyle. And so, I am asking for help and and putting hope in the kindness of strangers. I need a kidney from a living donor. But the average wait time for a kidney transplant while on the deceased donor waiting list is 3-5 years. Living kidney donation is the best option to help me get off the waiting list and live my life again free from dialysis and fear of infections.

God can use every opportunity, even the broken and incomplete parts of your life, if you trust in Him and let Him. He can recycle them into something purposeful. ~ Tim Tebow

Before I ventured down this road, I had no idea that people could live a completely full and active life with only one kidney… I would appreciate it if you would consider donating your kidney and/or sharing this post to spread my story far and wide! Even if you don’t match me, you could give someone else their life back through the paired kidney exchange.

This is where each donor gives a kidney to the recipient in the other pair. This allows 2 transplant candidates to receive lifesaving organs and 2 donors to give organs even though the original recipient/donor pairs was incompatible. This is my prayer for everyone in this most unfortunate club.

God can use every opportunity, even the broken and incomplete parts of your life, if you trust in Him and let Him. He can recycle them into something purposeful. ~ Tim Tebow

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