Dear Friends and Family, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Meet Kelli Green, she is a 33-year-old RN, from Port Elizabeth, NJ ( Cumberland County). Kelli was born with a congenital heart defect, tricuspid atresia, tricuspid stenosis an ASD and VSD (a hole in her top chamber and bottom chamber). At age three she underwent her first open heart surgery and did quite well, until the age of 12. She suddenly developed life threatening atrial arrhythmia’s, due to the scar tissue of her first surgery. Kelli was then hospitalized almost monthly, from the time she was age 12 until age 21. Each hospitalization brought a new procedure or medication to keep the arrhythmias at bay.
When Kelli was 15 they decided to try a dual chamber pacemaker, which took some, but, not all of the arrhythmias away. Finally at age 21, doctors decided it was time to try a new revision surgery. Kelli went to Chicago IL, to have a fairly new life-saving operation. Unfortunately, the surgery was only able to keep Kelli healthy for a few years and her health started to deteriorate again. In 2008 Kelli had to give up her job as an RN at the Veterans Home in Vineland, NJ and go on permanent disability. Since then her cardiac output has decreased significantly. She is now in heart failure, and due to the nature of her heart disease, she has developed fibrosis of the liver. Kelli is unable to hold solid food down and is on 24 hour oxygen therapy. Her doctors have told her that her only chance at survival is to have a heart and liver transplant — she is currently under the care of the transplant team at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania.
Although Kelli has been ill her whole life, this has not affected her strong will, or loving heart. If you have the pleasure of meeting Kelli you will meet a kind, compassionate woman, who always looks out for her friends, family and even strangers, no matter how bad she is feeling. If you need her for anything, she drops what she’s doing and is right there by your side supporting and uplifting you. Now has come the time for us to be by her side to support her and pour out our hearts and prayers upon her.
Even with insurance, Kelli will have many uninsured, transplant-related expenses such as: co-pays and deductibles, doctor visits, travel to and from the transplant center in Philadelphia and the costly immunosuppressant medications that she will need to take for the rest of her life. This presents a financial challenge that she cannot meet alone.
To help offset her uninsured costs, a fundraising campaign in Kelli’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive (formerly NTAF), a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for nearly 30 years. All contributions are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Mid-Atlantic Heart/Lung Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. You can help make a difference in Kelli’s life. Please consider making a contribution.Thank you.