MobilityWorks
Accessibility for all: Helping people connect with who and what matters most
Searching...
No results found. Please try modifying your search.
Spending quality time with family and friends has always been very important to Marla Neal. As a young divorcee, mother of a toddler, full-time employee, and college student, much of Marla’s time was spent balancing the parts of her life; especially spending quality time with the gift of her life, her son Christopher. In time, it became clear that Marla was being challenged by illness. After 16 years of working, fibromyalgia presented a new challenge, permanently disabling Marla at the age of 43. Several years later, Marla learned that she had inherited Polycystic Kidney Disease. She is now in end stage renal failure, and desperately needs a kidney transplant and your help.
Marla attributes her success to her faith. From her services at work and church, helping or enriching someone else’s life has always been part of who Marla is. She’s helped many adults in all sectors of corporate Chicago achieve the goal of beginning or returning to college to obtain a degree while maintaining their full-time employment. As an employee of her alma mater, Roosevelt University, she helped recruit and academically advise non-degreed corporate employees wanting to begin a graduate program; Marla was a living example that it could be done. After transplant, Marla is looking forward to again living life with zest, traveling with her family, dearest friends, church family, and just singing and acting goofy around the house with her grown son.
Medicare and Medicaid do not cover all of the cost of pre and post kidney transplant treatment; medications, copays, hospital and doctor fees are tremendous expenses on a limited income. In addition, Marla will need to relocate for 6 months around the time of transplant. After many years of helping others, Marla is now the one who needs your help.
To help with the financial burden of Marla’s uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in her honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, 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, are held by HelpHOPELive in the North-Central Kidney Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Please consider making a contribution by clicking donate now.
With sincere gratitude,
Christopher T. Roberts, Marla’s son
christopher082083@gmail.com
I haven't blogged on my page for a long time. I have had a lot of personal, physical and financial problems for the past several months; but who hasn't had the same issues.
I think the only difference is that with complete kidney failure my stresses seem to feel as if they are more traumatic. You're fighting for your life with each dialysis treatment as you wait for a transplant, while fighting daily stresses. Sometimes I just what to SCREAM!
Today is my 1-year anniversary as a dialysis patient. I initially went on dialysis at my nephrologist's suggetion that the treatments would increase my energy. I was the Queen of Fatigue! LOL SMH Although constantly lethargic, I still had functioning kidneys; but my blood workup had an increased toxicity level. My end stage renal failure came within a month of starting dialysis treatments. Oh well. 1. God, the Father 2. Jesus Christ, the Son 3. The Holy Spirit 4. Dialysis
lts one of those nights. Not feeling well, causing me to remain awake with the vivid knowledge of it all. I'm listening to music to try to relax. Songs that have touched me as a reminder of who I was then and now. The lyrics of the two songs and links their audio are just a few that speak as testaments to my faith in God.
Throughout the the various seasons; the hilltops and valleys, Christ Jesus has never left my side. I am praising Him through ALL circumstances.
12:07am - HAPPY YEAR 2015!
1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Amen; do as you did at your baptism, and when you joined by Christian faith in front of the congregation, family and friends.
Dec. 31, 2014 - Happy New Year's Eve! Just a quiet evening on a very cold night at home with Bosco. I wish that I was attending Watch Service at church; but I have been fighting off some type of bug since IChristmas. Dialysis is the only place that I need to go to, and that's on New Year's evening.
So the game plan is to try to put more food on my churning stomach, reflect on how blessed I was in 2014, and how mućh better that I can become in 2015.
1Peter 1:6-7 - "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, So that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Dec. 29, 2014 - I'm still recovering from Christmastime. For the first time in years, I cooked a full traditional holiday dinner, thanks to the help from a Christmas Food Gift Box from the Salvation Army. God bless the organization and all the food pantries for providing me with food itemsHis that allows me to have food most of the month.
I enjoyed preparing the food. I love to cook. My microwave cabinet is stuffed with cookbooks and recipe clippings. The problem with all the preparation is that I no longer have the stamina to successfully complete it without causing myself to become ill. I had to take to my bed three times whole preparing Christmas dinner. Christopher finished preparing the dinner rolls when he arrived, where he found me nearly passed out on the sofa.
Christopher did the serving and clean up, walked, played, and cuddled Bosco, besides providing me with intellectual and comical conversations. His thoughtfulness means so much to me. He truly is my greatest blessing.
I thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for the gift of the meal to commemorate His holy birth; in these financially times of hardship His grace that allows me to scavenger food through local pantries; providing Bosco and I (and Chris) with shelters; for maintaining the good health of Christopher, family, and Bosco; and cradling me in His loving and calming arms through my extremely long rainy season. Amen.
Merry Christmas Eve! I hope everyone has their shopping and food prep done. Yeah right! I'm moving as slowly as a turtle crossing the road. I think I just been clipped by that one piece of prep work.
Before I necame ill from poly cystic disease whch resulted in kidney failure, I could manage to muster up just enough energy over my other disabilities to get my house and meals ready for the holidays. Now, I'm so very tired.
I lost my trained helper, my son Christopher. It's for a good reason and cause. Christopher and friends are helping to feed the hungry this Christmas. He'll join me when they are finish. I'm very proud of him.
Well, back to work.
Dec. 18, 2014 - WEBSITE & CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES: God bless & thank the individual (s) who called in & made the initial donation to get my fundraising campaign started. My heart is overwhelmingly greatful to you. God has truly blessed my life by having you as a part of it. ♡
Make checks payable to:
Help Hope Live
Note in memo:
In honor of Marla Neal
Mail to:
Help Hope Live
2 Radnor Corporate Center
Suite 100
100 Matsonford Road
Radnor, PA 19087
Donor preference is important to us. Please specify in writing if you wish for your name or donation amount to be kept private.
Subscribe to this campaign to receive updates.
Accessibility for all: Helping people connect with who and what matters most
Building leading-edge mobility products
One of the largest mobility dealers in the U.S.
Consult with specially-trained pharmacists, get your medications for pickup or delivery and more
All news, and all that matters to you
Your first step to optimized communications
The event for the disability community
Born to connect, empower and inspire the rare disease community.
A mobility dealer for wheelchair accessible vehicles and adaptive equipment