Last year my friend, Clark Kimble, contracted a really scary virus which killed his liver. They got him a transplant, but the virus continued to attack his system--destroyed his bone marrow--which in turn destroyed his ability to make his own blood. He needs a transplant, but has been rejected by Medicaid three times, even though they're covering him. Weekly blood transfusions suffice for now, but he's really having a hard time fighting bacteria and such without his own blood. Plus, the transfusions are VERY expensive. We're in the process of getting the attention of "higher ups" to help us out.
I went up to the hospital (Huntsman) yesterday with a friend and my sister-in-law to bring up Clark's car for his mom to use, and to drop off some donated money. Clark was in and out of it the whole time--probably doesn't remember we'd even visited. His mom and sister asked me to try to wake him up. To get his attention, I practically had to yell his name, and he'd open his eyes only long enough to see us, then would be back asleep again. He's had an especially hard time the last couple of days because of infections in his lungs.
Anyway. I feel really strongly about helping him and his family. Just reading through the posts they've put on his blog (here) makes me cry. They've been through so much, and I want to do everything I can to alleviate that pain. He's had 18 major surgeries in the last year and he's only 24!
Long explanation, but there you have it. :-) I haven't forgotten any of you! And I'm not gone forever! :-) I'm spending most of my time heading up a bunch of fund raisers in the area and working on my first edit of book two in my series. Wish me luck, and see y'all soon. :-)
Oi... why would they reject him for the transplant when everything else is in place? It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and it is awful that they would prolong his suffering through their silly policies. I truly hope and pray that the fund raising is a success, but, more importantly, that Clark is able to recover and return to his normal life.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to try to spread the word as much as I can to help out. Nothing is impossible if we all work together for this cause.
It must be so hard seeing someone you care about suffer like that - I'm so sorry. Let me know what I can do to help spread the word, okay? I may be in Canada but most of my readers are in your neck of the woods.
ReplyDeleteOMG, what a heartbreaking situation. Like spottedcow said above, I hope the fundraising succeeds and that Clark recovers and returns to a normal life. I, too, will try to spread the word. In the meantime, Andrea, you do what you have to do, your friend and his family need you. We're here to support you. Prayers and hugs, Kittie
ReplyDeleteJust got back from visiting him at the hospital. He was a lot more responsive today than he was yesterday, though still really tired. He's on 14 different meds, gets a dry throat sometimes, and has had 20 major surgeries, not 18. But, you should see his eyes--his will to live is sooo strong, and it's so easy to see his spirit through them. We'll help him get over this!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone's interested, they can put the "I Support Clark Kimble" badge on their blogs. The code is available over at their blog: http://superclarkkimble.blogspot.com.
Thanks for your support!