My name is Sharon, I am writing this for my partner of 20 years Keith and our son Keith Jr.  We are proud people who have worked hard to build a good life for our family. Unfortunately, Keith has fallen incredibly ill and now we are struggling and need to humbly ask for help. 

Four years ago, Keith started to feel unwell during a Veteran's Day celebration with our family. At the time we thought he may have food poisoning. However, he continued to get worse without a clear diagnosis. After many doctor's visits, tests and stressful days he was diagnosed with liver failure and advised he needs a liver transplant.  Since then, we were also told his kidneys are failing and he has been diagnosed with end stage kidney disease and will also need a kidney transplant.

Every aspect of Keith's life is affected by his liver and kidney failure. Fluid builds up in his abdomen and legs, causing him pain and making walking almost impossible. He has fallen many times, including one fall that broke 3 ribs and another that broke 2 toes. The fluid needs to be drained twice a week. He also needs dialysis three times a week

.This summer his liver failure led to ammonia building up in his body, causing a seizure that put him in a coma, He had to be intubated, and we were not certain he would come out of it. Thankfully after many weeks of hospital care he recovered.

Keith is also diabetic and developed a wound on his foot that has refused to heal. He spent Christmas Eve having several toes amputated to hopefully try to control the infections. Unfortunately, the amputation became infected leading to more amputation of the foot. Since then, it continues to become reinfected, and he is currently in the hospital now with another infection. 

Four months ago, we were told without a liver transplant his life expectancy was 6 to 18 months. He is not eligible to receive a transplant while he has an infection. We are truly in a frantic state trying to keep his body infection free while we wait for a liver to become available. He has been on so many different antibiotics that his body has become immune to most and clearing the infection has become more difficult each time. He is currently on 23 different medications. 

 Keith has not been able to work due to all these challenges. As Keith's only caretaker all of the medical appointments, hospitalizations, and his ever-growing needs for care have also greatly impacted my ability to earn money for our family. There is a considerable amount of expenses not covered by insurance including rides to medical appointments, cane, walker, wheelchair (which should be) and the list goes on and on.  Rising cost of living and his condition getting worse has meant we are no longer making ends meet. 

Anything that could contribute to a fall had to be removed.  Our home has stairs at both entrances and no ramps which makes it dangerous to get him out of the house and back inside 5 times a week for dialysis and paracentesis. Our bathroom isn't safe for him to use as he cannot lift his legs high enough to get into nor out of the tub. 

Our immediate needs include medical expenses, making our home accessible since the amputation, and trying to keep the lights on and our house heated as we navigate this nightmare. We have long since expended any savings, credit, or other options.

We know times are tough for everyone, so if you are not currently in a position to contribute financially, please share with others, it helps so much, and we greatly appreciate it. 

Gratefully,

Sharon, Keith, and Keith Jr.