Joe Weissinger is a 42-year-old man who is waiting for a kidney transplant. In 2009, Joe was diagnosed with Membranous Nephropathy. After 5 years of struggling with this disease, Joe’s kidney function has fallen to less than 5%. Joe relies on dialysis to keep him alive and a kidney transplant is his only hope to live a normal life.

Joe has a dynamic personality. Everyone who knows Joe will tell you what a great guy he is and how his love for family and football gets him through. Joe grew up in South Philadelphia and graduated from St. John Neumann High School. He went on to Widener University where he played 4 years of football as an Offensive Lineman (#62) for Widener, graduating with a BA in criminal Justice. Joe married a childhood friend, Bridget and they are now parents to a beautiful baby boy “Joey”. Joey gives them so much joy, love, happiness and hope, which will help them keep overcoming obstacles.

Joe has been struggling to maintain his career in the insurance industry. His ambition to work and support his family led to his decision that Home Hemodialysis would be best for him. The four week training program and normal catheter complications forced Joe to miss significant time from work. Joe is currently working 40 hour weeks, and has dialysis treatment five nights a week; the little free time Joe has, he spends it with his family or volunteering as an assistant football coach for a local youth team.

Transplants are lifesaving but financially draining. Even with insurance, Joe is facing very high expenses including post-transplant medications that he will have to take for the rest of his life, co-pays, lab fees and more. To help with the financial burden of Joe’s uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in his honor has been established with Help Hope Live, a trusted nonprofit 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 Mid-Atlantic Kidney Transplant Fund, and are administered by Help Hope Live for transplant-related expenses only. Please consider a contribution.

Join us in helping Joe. Together, we can make a difference. If you have any questions or would like to help with fundraising, please contact me and together we can put a plan in action! Thank you.

Nancy Kulesza, Joe’s sister