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Monte is a 46-year-old man in urgent need of a liver transplant.
Monte has been fit and healthy all his life, until August 2024 when he was diagnosed with liver failure. Well known around the country as a “camel man,” Monte was very active and busy with a traveling exotic animal petting zoo and racing camels until his baby girl was born. He then semi-retired and began working as a heavy equipment operator, giving up the camels and show business he loved for health insurance to cover his family that he loves even more.
When he wasn’t working, he was spending time with his (now) six-year-old daughter, Morgan. When he was working, he was planning activities Morgan and him could do when they were together. They would go fishing, to the zoo, to the park, to play with the animals at Hedricks Exotic Animal Farm, or even just stay home and play games and read books. She is the light of his life and the reason he lives.
While Monte was not officially diagnosed with liver failure until August 2024, he began having undiagnosed symptoms long before that. Two years ago, Monte went in for routine lab work and was told he had a chronic kidney illness. There was never any official diagnosis, or complications during or after. He felt fine and continued to live his life while monitoring his bloodwork. A few months later, he began to have severe back problems that rendered him unable to work as he waited on approval for a back surgery. In August of 2024, he became jaundiced and swollen nearly overnight and was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with liver failure. He continued to have problems with managing the liver and living a normal life, on top of the back surgery he was still waiting for and the severe pain that made living a normal life impossible.
In October of 2024, Monte was on the operating table for his back surgery and was denied by the anesthesiologist as he was a “high-risk” patient. This action likely saved his life, although the continuation of having to live with severe pain was a disappointment. Shortly after, Monte received a second opinion from another doctor who informed him the back problem was a misdiagnosis, and the real issue was in his hip. His entire hip joint had deteriorated due to liver failure that he had only recently received a diagnosis for. He received hip surgery on December 17.
Despite the hip surgery giving him much-needed relief from the pain, the stress from the surgery along with new prescriptions burned into his upper intestines, causing a large ulcer nearly immediately. This left him struggling to make it through Christmas Day with his daughter before being rushed to the hospital. He spent a few weeks in the ICU while doctors tried to locate the source of the bleeding and get it stopped. In the meantime, Monte received 15 units of blood just to keep his hemoglobin at a reasonable level to sustain life.
It has been a long, hard road of hospital visits and liver-related issues that were only recently diagnosed properly. From the kidney issues that were an early-warning sign that went undetected, to the necrosis of the hip joint being misdiagnosed as a back issue, it has been a hard journey for Monte the last few years and he is just now getting proper treatment and answers.
Monte is currently in the ICU waiting on a liver. He has spent the majority of April and May in the hospital. Despite this hardship, and missing time with his daughter, he remains upbeat and has impressed the doctors with how hard he is fighting to get stronger.
The liver transplant is looming quickly on the horizon, as he is medically very much in need. However, while the transplant will save his life, it is also incredibly expensive. The cost of the transplant is exorbitant, and the hospital visits leading up to the transplant are not included in that very high price tag. Monte will also have to be on expensive immunosuppressants for the rest of his life, and will be unable to work for quite some time as he heals and will have frequent doctor appointments which prevent a steady job. His life will drastically change as he learns how to adjust to all of the medical challenges he is facing.
In addition to all of this….and it is a LOT to navigate, especially for someone who previously had no medical problems…..Monte’s insurance ends May 31. Because his insurance will cover a huge portion of the medical costs related to the liver transplant, he will need to pay the high COBRA payments to continue the same level of insurance coverage. Since he has been unable to work, these costs on top of his normal bills is unmanageable, and he needs help.
Monte chose Help, Hope, Live as a nonprofit organization to help with fundraising as it ensures that all the money that is donated to them on his behalf is tax deductible for the giver. It also ensures that every single penny goes toward his medical-related expenses.
If you know Monte, you know he has never asked for any kind of help. Independence is important for him, and now having to rely on help is so, so hard. Something we can all attest to. Monte NEEDS help.
If you can give, please give! If you can’t, please share his story so that others may see it and be inspired to help. If you would like to host a fundraiser in his honor to help, please reach out. Even if you can only do a small fundraiser like online popcorn sales, t-shirt sales, or are willing to reach out to a business or church on his behalf. We cannot do it all on our own and need as much help as we can get.
Every little bit helps and will go a long way toward helping him get through this long and expensive process. We appreciate each and every one of you for your continued support.
September 2025 Update: Apologies for not getting back to everyone that has reached out or graciously donated. We appreciate each and every one of you so, so much. Monte has been doing really well the last few months, and we have all sort of taken a step back and enjoyed the lull in the chaos to catch up on our lives. We know it is temporary.Monte has been pretty independent the last couple of months since he was released from KU Med. He has dialysis 3X weekly, which wipes him out those days, but the rest of the week he tries to get up and go outside for a drive at the very least. He has been doing some volunteer work out at the farm just to get out of the house, which has been really good for him. Morgan has even helped him with some of the tours in the evenings. I am so happy to see him able to get out and around and do fun things with her. This last week he was able to go to the fair and announce the pig races, and Morgan was able to help a bit as well. He still has good days and bad, as expected, but has learned his limits and how to identify the signs that he needs some help earlier rather than later.In August, we hit the one-year mark of when he was “officially” diagnosed with a liver problem, although he was misdiagnosed and having severe problems related to it for a year before that. It has been a very hard year on all of us, and I feel like we have all really grown and changed in response to the disease. I am so proud of all the accomplishments Monte has made in the last year. It has been hardest on him, and even in pain in the hospitals, he tried to make the nurses and doctors laugh. If you know Monte, he is a showman first.We have learned a lot about how to cope with this disease. It isn’t easy. There is SO much more than just showing up and getting a transplant. Monte has had to make drastic changes to his life. His mother and I have also had to make changes and sacrifices to get him through this. A year ago, we had no idea what we were getting into, and how our lives would change.We all have bags packed and ready to go. We have plans for the transplant and who will take which shifts. We have learned some of the things that we can and cannot do, and what will need to change once he gets the transplant. We don’t make any changes to his health regime without consulting with his transplant team and have learned how to advocate for his health without compromising on his needs.We are still waiting on the call for that dual liver-kidney transplant. His life will change again once we have that, and we will need continued support through that ordeal. Again, we appreciate all of you for your continued support. Much love from the McClurgs.
Wishing you well again Monte. Peace.
Claudia Cohen
This donation was generously made by an anonymous donor using the Silent Donor giving platform (www.silentdonor.com)
Anondo Fund Inc
This donation was generously made by an anonymous donor using the Silent Donor giving platform (www.silentdonor.com)!
Anondo Fund Inc
Praying for you! God bless.
Anonymous
Blessings to you and your family. My husband is a heart recipient so I wanted to help out, if even in a small way.
Angie Eilrich
Every western dreamer waxes poetic about life on the free range, tending to animals. I want this man to continue to live it, please join me in his life's journey to being an old man telling stories to his grandkids.
Hon.heidi Keller
You got this brother!!!
Scott Stevenson
Xo
Christina Preston
Keep fighting the good fight, Monte.
Jersey Jim and MaryEllen from the IOCJ
MaryEllen Olatta
Hi Cindy, Monte and Mollie
Praying for a miracle! Love you all! Hope is all we ever have! Love, Connie
Connie cumpton
Keep on being brave a while longer Monte. Morgan needs you.
Love ya
Debra Fowler
Hang in there and stay strong!
Marcus Lanning
Make checks payable to:
Help Hope Live
Note in memo:
In honor of Monte McClurg
Mail to:
Help Hope Live
2 Radnor Corporate Center
Suite 100
100 Matsonford Road
Radnor, PA 19087
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