From Casey.... Chris and I have been friends since we were 5 and 4 years old respectively. The first game we remember playing together was called, ‘deer hunting’. We lived just one house down from each other. We had plans to start our own skateboard company, Krajow Inc. I think we were going to own a speedboat together at one point too. Maybe a little late for the skateboard company, but at least we a have a cool company name in place. Several people have commented they always thought we were brothers since we spent so much time together. By high school, we mastered communication to a series of grunts. Trust me, that means we are close. Chris and I are about to share another adventure together. As many of you know, Chris’s kidneys are failing and I will be donating one of mine to him. You can find out more about that here http://kidney4kraemer.weebly.com/. We have our surgery scheduled for December 16, 2014. While insurance is covering a large portion of the surgery for me and Chris, there are significant out of pocket costs that we need to cover. Chris, his wife Caryn and I will be taking unpaid leave while we recover. A surgery like this affects not just me and Chris, but this impacts our wives, kids and families. If you are able and would like to donate, whatever is collected will be used to offset lost wages and incurred medical costs for us during this time. We are extremely grateful for your consideration. Click below or add url to your browser to go to donation page: http://www.youcaring.com/…/support-for-chris-and-cas…/267867 |
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Well we are down below a month from surgery. We have been working our way through our list of tasks to get done, but time is getting tight and reality is setting in. We are working on cleaning, Christmas shopping and prepping the kids for the surgery. Chris is still doing great and continues to be able to work and coach Austin's football and basketball teams. So far the kids are taking the surgery and illness in stride. We continue to be blessed with all the family and friends who have offered their help and prayers. We appreciate your support through the last year and in to 2015. God Bless. As you can imagine it has been a whirlwind of a year. We continue to be amazed by the outpouring of love and prayers we receive from family and friends. We are excited (and anxious) to share that Chris's longtime childhood friend, Casey, has been approved as a donor. We have been scheduled for transplant December 16th. With a little more than 2 months away and the holidays quickly approaching we have a lot to prepare for. We ask that you continue to keep our family, Casey and his family and all the doctors that will work on both Casey and Chris in your prayers and thoughts. God Bless. It has been a whirlwind of a month. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from all of our family and friends. We feel so blessed by the amount of people that have stepped forward to be tested as a living donor for Chris. That is an amazing gift that we will never be able to fully repay. We appreciate all the kind words of support and prayers that are being lifted up.
Since our last post (yes I know it was nearly a month ago, I am not a good blogger), we have learned some additional information on the testing process. Only one person can go through testing at time. We currently have 1 person in the process. He will be traveling to Phoenix in a few weeks to go through testing at Mayo to ensure he is healthy and a match to Chris. If the person going through testing ends up not matching, then we will notify you all to re-contact Mayo to initiate the testing process. We figure this must be the way they test if you really, really want to give up your kidney. At the time of Chris's evaluation his Kidney function had fallen to 16%; however, we have seen it rebound a little to 20% in the last week. They tell us that is to be expected based on hydration. Thankfully Chris is still feeling healthy and not showing any outward symptoms. He has not had to start any dialysis at this point which is a blessing. We are cautiously optimistic that he could have his transplant this fall without ever needing to go on dialysis. This is our goal as dialysis can be very hard on your body; particularly the heart. Thank you again for all your support and love that you all are providing us. The following is information that was provided to us to share with people that may be interested in the living donor program.
What is living kidney donation? A friend or family member who generously volunteers to donate a kidney to a patient who is on the UNOS transplant list and who is in end-stage renal disease What are the qualifications for being a living kidney donor?
www.kidney.org www.tranplantliving.org www.mayoclinic.org www.mayoclinic.com www.livingdonors.com If you want to be considered as a living donor, what should I do now? Contact the Living Kidney Donor Team at the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center to complete a preliminary health screening: Via telephone: 480-342-1010 via e-mail: [email protected] Dear Family and Friends,
This is probably the most difficult letter I’ve written. As some of you may already know, I am in need of a Kidney Transplant. For those that are not aware I am taking the time now to let all of my family and friends know about my condition and health. It is still unknown the exact cause of my kidney failure, however the doctors believe it to be multiple factors including thin basement membrane disease and polycystic kidney disease both of which have a genetic component. Aside from my kidneys I am in excellent health. I’ve have been very active with following a strict diet and exercise regimen and have lost over 50lbs in the past 18 months. I completed the comprehensive Kidney Transplant evaluation at Mayo Clinic a couple weeks ago and I was determined to be eligible for a living donor kidney transplant and I should be listed on the UNOS (United Network of Organ Sharing) list very soon. While my kidney function is deteriorating, I am thankful that I am currently not showing any symptoms of the disease. We are hopeful that I am able to find a living kidney donor before I am in need of dialysis which would be a major impact to my health and our day to day life. I am pursuing a living donor for two main reasons (but there are many others):
Thank you for all your support and concern. Your thoughts and prayers for myself and my family during this time are much appreciated. Love, Chris Kraemer |