Family and friends of Jason Wheeler are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a Transplant. Jason has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because donations are tax deductible for contributors and will only be used to cover medical and related expenses.
My name is Jason Wheeler. I am 46 years old, and for the past 5 years I have been living with advanced Chronic Kidney Disease.
I recently was placed on the transplant list and currently am awaiting a kidney from either a living or cadaver donor. I will be the 4th kidney transplant recipient in two generations of my family.
Luckily, I am not receiving dialysis, though it is on the horizon.
My goal, although completely out of my hands, is to receive a kidney before needing dialysis treatments as this will significantly improve life expectancy of the kidney and of me. I am a husband to a wonderful wife, Sara, and father to two amazing children, Ethan 16, and Evelyn, 15.
In times of good health you can find us on the golf course where I teach the game that I love to my kids. I also am Chef at Hill Top Inn in Elmira, NY, where I work long but incredibly rewarding hours with a positive team around me. These long hours leave me exhausted and I often fall asleep as soon as I get home, waking up in the morning still in my work clothes. Yuck!I do my best to remain positive despite my diagnosis. I am scared, but I also know that worry doesn’t do anyone any good.
The outpouring of emotional support that I have received has been nothing short of overwhelming. I hope that everyone at least once in their lives gets the opportunity to feel the love that I have felt from those around me. We are human and the power of community and support should never be underestimated. One of the most difficult things a person can do is ask for help, especially when they are usually the person providing help to others.
I am humbly asking your support in fundraising to help cover medical costs associated with my future transplant. I have blood work every two or three months, as well as specialist visits prior to my surgery. I will also be responsible for the costs associated with my donor’s surgery.
Post transplant costs will only increase, as I will depend on anti-rejection medicine and immunosuppressive for the rest of my life. For at least 6 weeks post-surgery I will be travelling to Rochester, NY for follow up visits with the transplant team. I admit that I am concerned about the financial burden our family will face on top of the medical burden.
My hope is to have some of these concerns assuaged so that I may help return my family’s life back to (a new) normal, where my only concern is how wonderfully handsome I am despite my bald head. Please donate to Help Hope Live in my honor today.
If you have any fundraising ideas, please email my wife Sara, [email protected]
From the bottom of my kidneys, I thank you for your support.
