MobilityWorks
Accessibility for all: Helping people connect with who and what matters most
Searching...
No results found. Please try modifying your search.
As many of you already know, this past October we learned that Ron is in stage-4 kidney failure. The past 7 months have been a rollercoaster journey that has involved multiple hospital stays, 4 surgeries, countless doctors’ appointments, in addition to being placed on dialysis which was required to save his life. Although the dialysis is sustaining him for the moment, he has encountered many challenges with it and what he really needs is a kidney transplant. As you can imagine, we have spent many hours on our knees praying about his prognosis and we are happy to report that not only does he qualify for a kidney transplant; he also has a living donor who has volunteered to donate one of her kidneys for Ron … Praise God!!
For those of you who may not know Ron well, he is a lifelong resident of Frankfort, graduating from Clinton Prairie in 1973. He worked for Peter Paul for 7 years, then 25 years at Frito-Lay, and he currently has served 10 years as custodian at Frankfort Middle School. Ron is a member of Frankfort First Church of the Nazarene. He has always considered himself an encourager, fondly called Barney, (after Barnabus in the Bible) by those who know him well. Now he needs your encouragement.
While we are so excited to share the good news of a donor, in addition to your prayers, we also would like to ask for your financial help. As with all medical procedures, transplants are lifesaving but financially draining. First and foremost, while insurance will cover the cost of the donor’s surgery, she will have to be off work for 6 weeks which creates a financial strain for her. In addition, there are many out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered that we are working to absorb. They include but are not limited to lost wages, travel to doctors’ appointments, and insurance premiums. After transplant, Ron will have to be on expensive anti-rejection drugs, medications he will need to take for the rest of his life. He will also have to travel to Indianapolis 3 times a week for follow-up appointments.
To help ease the financial burden of Ron’s expenses and those of his donor that are not covered by insurance, a fundraising campaign in his honor has been established with Help Hope Live, which is a trusted nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that has been providing community based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law, are held by Help Hope Live in the Great Lakes Kidney Transplant Fund, and are administered by Help Hope Live for transplant-related expenses only. Please, consider a contribution.
For credit card contributions, please click on the yellow Donate Now button.
Thank you for your prayers, support, and generosity. Keep an eye on Ron’s campaign page at www.helphopelive.org and on facebook, because we will be planning some fundraising events soon and posting updates regularly.
Gratefully,
Ron & Brenda Skiles
765-242-3236
It is with great pleasure we are updating this website to say Ron has received his new kidney!! A huge thank you first to the Lord, and then to Kendra for giving Ron a new lease on life!! She is a humble, loving and full of life woman, and we love her so much. We are so undeserving, but the Lord smiled on us and made a way! Our prayer is for the Lord to help us live in a way that honors the sacrifice that was made for us. Ron is doing excellent! Praise the the Lord! He is putting out tons of urine, and all of his labs are coming back increasingly better each time! He is pretty sore, but in great spirits! I couldn't get to sleep last night, I just couldn't quite praising the Lord! Kendra is feeling a little rough today, but they said to expect that. She is being strong though and not complaining much. Please continue to lift them both up in prayer. We love all of you, and thank everyone who has given money, food, prayers and encouragement along this journey we've been on. We truly couldn't have done it without all of you.
For all of you who have asked us who Ron's donor is. It has been very hard not to tell everyone, but we wanted to respect her wishes. She didn't want all the attention on her. She is a wonderful, selfless woman. I'm sure the only reason she is revealing her name now is to give her clients notice. Her wish is the same as ours, to give God all the glory! God knew some 40 years ago that Ron would need a kidney someday. We have known Kendra's in law's for years. Through that connection, we use to do a Christian retreat with Jason, and Kendra when their girls were little. Can't help but believe that God wanted us to get to know each other way back then. We can't tell you how excited we are that Ron will be getting the gift of life from a Christian! Please keep Kendra and her family lifted up in prayer. Thank you doesn't seem like enough. We love you Kendra Coleman!
It is with great joy, that we finally have a potential transplant date. The lady who is donating her kidney, has passed all of her tests! Praise God for that! They have given us a couple of dates to choose from. Sept 16, or Sept 21! They will meet next Tuesday and give us more details. But we are ecstatic to finally be moving forward!
We have been deeply honored and blessed, by all the people who have donated to our website, and at the church. We are pleased to say that we have raised the funds needed to support his donor, while she off work for the transplant. She will be going through additional testing, to make sure she is 100% healthy. Everyone keeps asking when the surgery will be, but we want to make sure she is healthy first. We are looking forward that day!
Well, it's been about 6 weeks since Ron got his second catheter placed, and after a few bumps in the road, it is working the way it was designed to! Praise God! He is getting a good night of rest now, and his energy level is improving every day. He tries to go to the YMCA about every other day, trying to get some strength back.
The hilight of the week is whenever he can see our granddaughter, she can make his face light up in a heartbeat! We are anxiously awaiting our son and daughter-in-love's new baby in November. He is able to ride his John Deere lawnmower now, and he loves that too.
As soon as we have a date for transplant, I will be posting it!
We are so thankful for the last few days. As many of you know, we ended up having to replace Ron's dialysis catheter, with a new one. It worked pretty good for about 10 days, then he began having the same issues. The drain alarm would go off every two hours, and he would have to sit up in bed to get it to drain. Sometimes even doing that, it wouldn't work. So sometimes he would just have to bypass it. We were just about to give up on the machine, and start doing manual exchanges. But we went back to the clinic on Thursday, and the doctor said, let's try giving you more fluid. My thought was, if he can't drain what you're giving him now, how can that work? But IT WORKED!! Praising God! He is feeling rested, and he has gotten some of his appetite back. We're are still ready for transplant, but we can handle this until then!
Loading Images
We are praying for you daily!! Love you
Jerry and Cindy kelly
Prayers of hope and good health for you. May God bless you all and help you through this difficult time. Love always.
Kayla Mann
ron i,am pray for you and your family.
jim harrell
Praying a good recovery and know all will be according to God's plan. We love you guys.
David a Mahin
David Raines
PRAYING FOR YOU RON AND HAPPY TO KNOW YOU HAVE A DONOR!! KEEP FIGHTING AND GOD BLESS!
Vicki Albaugh
Stay strong dear friends, and remember there are many, many prayers going up for you both!
️Jo Ellen Clark
You are a living testimony to your faith, exhibiting confidence and grace. Keeping you, your family and intended donor in prayer.
Megan Sheets
Keep up the good fight, Ron. We need you back at the middle school as soon as you get well.
Don and Sue DeWeese
Make checks payable to:
Help Hope Live
Note in memo:
In honor of Ron Skiles
Mail to:
Help Hope Live
2 Radnor Corporate Center
Suite 100
100 Matsonford Road
Radnor, PA 19087
Donor preference is important to us. Please specify in writing if you wish for your name or donation amount to be kept private.
Subscribe to this campaign to receive updates.
Accessibility for all: Helping people connect with who and what matters most
Building leading-edge mobility products
One of the largest mobility dealers in the U.S.
Consult with specially-trained pharmacists, get your medications for pickup or delivery and more
All news, and all that matters to you
Your first step to optimized communications
The event for the disability community
Born to connect, empower and inspire the rare disease community.
A mobility dealer for wheelchair accessible vehicles and adaptive equipment