Ed Vitale

Ed needs our help to get a Kidney Transplant

Ed Vitale is a fairly healthy 77 year old who, after 4 + decades as a diabetic, finds himself in need of a kidney transplant. Ed always prided himself on taking good care of his diabetes, watching his diet, checking his blood sugar and taking his insulin but the years have taken a toll. The cost of a transplant can be overwhelming.

Ed has the support and love of his family as we forge ahead thru the healthcare system to achieve the goal of hopefully obtaining a kidney. Ed has been approved and is on the transplant list at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, PA. Ed was also recently evaluated at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. Since Mayo Clinic has 3 US locations, once approved for their list that would add many additional states increasing his chances of organ procurement quite a bit.

Ed grew up in Delaware County, graduated from Eddystone High School and served his country in the Air Force for 4 years. Ed loves life and is a dedicated, loving family man to his wife, 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 2 great granddaughters. Ed worked in the air freight industry for over 30 years providing customer service. Following retirement he got a part time job working for his favorite baseball team, The Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he is a lifelong fan, as a game day host. He was active at church and enjoyed going to the gym for workouts a few times a week.

In March of 2014 Ed’s kidney failure progressed and his doctors determined he needed to start dialysis. While his dialysis is necessary and lifesaving, it has necessitated that Ed give up his job with the Phillies after 12 years and also his gym membership so that he can maintain his dialysis schedule. He is able to continue with his lifetime love of bowling and he belongs to 3 senior bowling leagues.

Transplants are lifesaving but financially draining. Even with good insurance, Ed is facing very high expenses including relocation for up to three months to be close to the transplant hospital, caregiver expenses, co-pays for transplant medications of up to $1,200 a month and more.

To help with the financial burden of Ed Vitale’s uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in his 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 Mid-Atlantic Kidney Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Please, consider a contribution.

For credit card contributions, please click the yellow Donate Now button.

If we all work together we can make Ed’s prospects for the future much brighter. Thank you for your support.

With sincere gratitude,

De Vitale and the Vitale Family
[email protected]