My mother has been a diabetic since the age of 45 and was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2010. She also had heart surgery that same year and was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (kidney failure). To keep her body functioning, she undergoes dialysis treatments three times a week, for four hours at a time, leaving her very weak.

Throughout her life, Mom’s love and care has reached many who were in need of anything from a warm meal to a helping hand. She worked as an office manager for Allstate Insurance until she became too ill to continue. My father has been her primary caregiver. My sisters, brother and I have been doing all we can to support them.

My mother has been evaluated and put on the kidney/pancreas transplant waiting list at the Tucson Medical Center. This transplant is her only chance for long term survival. She is currently first on the list.

Although my mother has medical insurance, she will have many uninsured transplant related expenses, such as three months of living expenses in Tucson, copays, deductibles, travel expenses, and costly medications she will need for the rest of her life in order to not reject the organs. This is a challenge my parents cannot meet alone.

To assist her with the expenses, a fundraising campaign has been set up in her honor with HelpHOPELive, a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for 30 years. All donations are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Southwest Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant related expenses only. Please consider helping my mother through this trial. If you wish to make a contribution to her campaign:

Please make checks payable to:
HelpHOPELive

Note in Memo section:
In Honor of Joanne Jacobson

Please send to:
HelpHOPELive
2 Radnor Corporation Center
100 Matsonford Road, Suite 100
Radnor, PA 19087

For credit card contributions, please call 800-642-8399 or select the DONATE NOW button.

Your support and generosity are greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping insure that my sisters and brothers and our 14 children will have more years with our mother and grandmother.

Jackie Engel
480-220-4822