________________________________
Raquel and Jeff and The JeffWerx
Transplant Fund
For several years now, Raquel and I have been scrimping and
saving so that we can afford a kidney transplant for Raquel (her
kidneys were destroyed due to an irresponsible prescription writer
back in 2006). She's an amazing person and spends her whole
life helping others...I truly believe the world needs her around.
I have been diabetic since 1973. This is what caused my eyes to
finally fall apart in 2000, and the accelerated wear and tear this
disease brings on has brought my own kidneys to the point of
being almost non-functioning. My control of the diabetes has
averted these complications greatly, but it's catching up with me
now...hard.
Raquel dialyzes four times a week, and I'm with her there every
night. Dialysis is a grueling process. It is not a cure, but it buys
people time. It would be logistically impractical for us both to be on
dialysis at the same time. Random problems crop up without
warning for dialysis patients regardless of how well you try to
"control" the disease. If we were both on dialysis, and both of us
happened to have a "bad day" at the same time we couldn't very
well manage to get each other into wheelchairs and manage all
the other issues that just seem to happen. We have decided it
makes the most sense to try and get my transplant done first to
keep me off of dialysis. I will still be able to give Raq the help she
needs while I wait for my transplant, then Raq will help me through
the recovery period, and then when I'm strong enough we'll work
to get her transplanted.
The problem is that starving artists living paycheck to paycheck
don't have a lot of financial power to make these things possible.
Thusly we're doing a lot of things to raise money for our
Transplant Fund. This page exists to offer an explanation of
what's going on, as well as to provide an easy way to contribute to
the Transplant Fund.
I'm doing a lot of projects with "suggested donations" rather than
set prices. PayPal is a quick, safe, and easy way to transfer
money, and they don't take percentages for money that is "gifted"
the way they do for regular business transactions. Also, if people
really like my work and want to donate a little more than the
suggested donation, that would be spectacular and very much
appreciated by Raquel and myself.
Transplant Fund
For several years now, Raquel and I have been scrimping and
saving so that we can afford a kidney transplant for Raquel (her
kidneys were destroyed due to an irresponsible prescription writer
back in 2006). She's an amazing person and spends her whole
life helping others...I truly believe the world needs her around.
I have been diabetic since 1973. This is what caused my eyes to
finally fall apart in 2000, and the accelerated wear and tear this
disease brings on has brought my own kidneys to the point of
being almost non-functioning. My control of the diabetes has
averted these complications greatly, but it's catching up with me
now...hard.
Raquel dialyzes four times a week, and I'm with her there every
night. Dialysis is a grueling process. It is not a cure, but it buys
people time. It would be logistically impractical for us both to be on
dialysis at the same time. Random problems crop up without
warning for dialysis patients regardless of how well you try to
"control" the disease. If we were both on dialysis, and both of us
happened to have a "bad day" at the same time we couldn't very
well manage to get each other into wheelchairs and manage all
the other issues that just seem to happen. We have decided it
makes the most sense to try and get my transplant done first to
keep me off of dialysis. I will still be able to give Raq the help she
needs while I wait for my transplant, then Raq will help me through
the recovery period, and then when I'm strong enough we'll work
to get her transplanted.
The problem is that starving artists living paycheck to paycheck
don't have a lot of financial power to make these things possible.
Thusly we're doing a lot of things to raise money for our
Transplant Fund. This page exists to offer an explanation of
what's going on, as well as to provide an easy way to contribute to
the Transplant Fund.
I'm doing a lot of projects with "suggested donations" rather than
set prices. PayPal is a quick, safe, and easy way to transfer
money, and they don't take percentages for money that is "gifted"
the way they do for regular business transactions. Also, if people
really like my work and want to donate a little more than the
suggested donation, that would be spectacular and very much
appreciated by Raquel and myself.
All text and images © J. Freels, 2011
The Transplant Fund
We're fortunate enough to have some very good friends who
like having us around and have made special efforts to help
out with the Transplant Fund.
like having us around and have made special efforts to help
out with the Transplant Fund.
The Big Garage Sale
Thanks to Raquel's College
Colleagues and the Olympia
community for a fabulous garage sale
that contributed to the Transplant
Fund!
Thanks to Raquel's College
Colleagues and the Olympia
community for a fabulous garage sale
that contributed to the Transplant
Fund!
Sid's Slimfest
My good Friend, Dr. Sid Orpin went on
a hunger strike, well not quite, but he
nobly took it upon himself to take
pledges for every pound he could lose
to be donated to the Transplant Fund.
His efforts raised £657 ($1,065)!
Thanks to you Sid, The Solihull
Dermatology Department Crew,
Friends, and Family who generously
pledged their support!
My good Friend, Dr. Sid Orpin went on
a hunger strike, well not quite, but he
nobly took it upon himself to take
pledges for every pound he could lose
to be donated to the Transplant Fund.
His efforts raised £657 ($1,065)!
Thanks to you Sid, The Solihull
Dermatology Department Crew,
Friends, and Family who generously
pledged their support!
All money earned by JeffWerx (artwork,
game and book sales, t-shirts, etc.) goes
directly to the Transplant Fund. The
PayPal link to the right will allow you to
make payment for your custom artwork, or
a donation to the JeffWerx Transplant
Fund. To learn more about this fund,
continue reading below.
game and book sales, t-shirts, etc.) goes
directly to the Transplant Fund. The
PayPal link to the right will allow you to
make payment for your custom artwork, or
a donation to the JeffWerx Transplant
Fund. To learn more about this fund,
continue reading below.
________________________________
________________________________
Trollhalla is Ken St. Andre's
on-line Tunnels & Trolls
community. Ken has
generously agreed to
organize an auction of
special signed T&T
collectibles to benefit our
Transplant Fund. The
auction has earned $500!
Members can look for more
details as they develop at
www.Trollhalla.com
on-line Tunnels & Trolls
community. Ken has
generously agreed to
organize an auction of
special signed T&T
collectibles to benefit our
Transplant Fund. The
auction has earned $500!
Members can look for more
details as they develop at
www.Trollhalla.com
The Transplant Process
If you're unfamiliar with the transplant process, here's an
explanation of what it involves:
The Work-up involves a whole lotta medical tests to gather data
to determine if your body has a good chance of surviving a
transplant. This includes all kinds of things including basic
blood-typing, dental work (to be sure you don't run the risk of
developing an infection later that would compromise the
transplanted organ), cardio tests, financial evaluation, and other
things that scan and beep and buzz and poke a person with
many, many needles.
When you've jumped through the above hoops, your case is
presented to a Transplant Review Committee. The committee
consists of relevant doctors, surgeon, financial coordinator,
social worker, and the coordinator, who will all decide if you're a
good candidate. If they decide that your life is worth saving,
you'll be approved and will officially be on the list!
When you're on The Waiting List, you wait. The average wait
for a kidney/pancreas transplant is a year and a half. You'll try
to keep your health up as best you can while you wait for that
phone call to summon you to the hospital for the surgery. It can
come at any time and you have to be ready to go.
Post Surgery you'll spend about a week in the hospital to be
sure that your body isn't rejecting the new organ. This will be a
time of lots and lots of daily tests. If all goes well, you'll be
discharged from the hospital.
If you live within easy driving distance of the hospital you'll go
home, but if you live farther away you'll be put up in a hotel to try
and get back on your feet (this quickly becomes expensive and
there's no insurance to help with this) while trekking back and
forth for a few weeks of continued tests. If all goes well, you'll be
able to come in less and less often for tests.
After the surgery you're going to need to be especially careful
about who you see and where you go because the body's
immune systems are kept lowered (you'll be on these drugs the
rest of your life and they are EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE) to help
prevent it from rejecting the new organ. Dust masks may
become your newest fashion accessory.
If you're unfamiliar with the transplant process, here's an
explanation of what it involves:
The Work-up involves a whole lotta medical tests to gather data
to determine if your body has a good chance of surviving a
transplant. This includes all kinds of things including basic
blood-typing, dental work (to be sure you don't run the risk of
developing an infection later that would compromise the
transplanted organ), cardio tests, financial evaluation, and other
things that scan and beep and buzz and poke a person with
many, many needles.
When you've jumped through the above hoops, your case is
presented to a Transplant Review Committee. The committee
consists of relevant doctors, surgeon, financial coordinator,
social worker, and the coordinator, who will all decide if you're a
good candidate. If they decide that your life is worth saving,
you'll be approved and will officially be on the list!
When you're on The Waiting List, you wait. The average wait
for a kidney/pancreas transplant is a year and a half. You'll try
to keep your health up as best you can while you wait for that
phone call to summon you to the hospital for the surgery. It can
come at any time and you have to be ready to go.
Post Surgery you'll spend about a week in the hospital to be
sure that your body isn't rejecting the new organ. This will be a
time of lots and lots of daily tests. If all goes well, you'll be
discharged from the hospital.
If you live within easy driving distance of the hospital you'll go
home, but if you live farther away you'll be put up in a hotel to try
and get back on your feet (this quickly becomes expensive and
there's no insurance to help with this) while trekking back and
forth for a few weeks of continued tests. If all goes well, you'll be
able to come in less and less often for tests.
After the surgery you're going to need to be especially careful
about who you see and where you go because the body's
immune systems are kept lowered (you'll be on these drugs the
rest of your life and they are EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE) to help
prevent it from rejecting the new organ. Dust masks may
become your newest fashion accessory.