Jessie Hallowell

Jessie, an infinitely kind, single, working mother of two needs a kidney.

Jessie is the strongest, most impressive woman I know. She is an incredible mother to her two children Milo (age 13) and Lila (age 10), and an eternally giving individual. This inseparable family of three lives in a small fishing community on an island off the coast of Maine, with a population of roughly 350 people. Here Jessie cooks and manages the kitchen of the islanders’ favorite restaurant, among other jobs. Last year, after working 60 to 80 hour weeks, making time to be with her kids and helping them with homework, she started feeling unwell. It started with leg cramps and an incessant itchiness. Over the winter the cramps got much worse, often waking her multiple times a night. No amount of water or supplements were helping, so this spring, before the busy season, she had some bloodwork done. Thinking that it would be a routine procedure, she left the clinic figuring she’d learn that it was some simple, resolvable issue. Later that day she was rushed off island to the hospital, and within 24 hours was informed that she was in complete, end-stage renal failure. The doctors could not understand how she was standing with the levels of different toxins in her blood, let alone walking, talking, and working. Within hours she had started dialysis and will have to continue that treatment three times a week until she receives a new kidney and her body does not reject it.

End-stage renal failure is hard enough to deal with: the thousands that every dialysis treatment costs; the long hours spent on hold with different insurance companies; and, as simple as it may seem, the enormous wrench thrown into the daily routine that gives us all so much solace. Jessie now has to wake up, get her two kids ready for school (which we all know is no easy feat!), get herself to the state ferry that runs three times a day (1hr 10min), drive to dialysis (50 min), be dialyzed (4hrs), drive back (50 min), try and catch the middle boat (1hr 10min), to get back and pick her kids up at cross country, or perhaps the play they are in. That is an eight hour day already! That alone is enough for any one person, but on top of that she works at the restaurant, preparing food, coordinating orders, making schedules, and often having to walk right off the boat into work for the evening. All without a word of complaint.

Fortunately, her brother Sam has a kidney for her! After months of testing, and many more trips to the mainland, the time for surgery is fast approaching. She could not be more grateful to her brother for granting her the gift of life, and he could not be happier to do it.

With all that being said though, none of this is free, and much of it feels overwhelming, both emotionally and financially. From the ambulance ride to the immunosuppressants (anti-rejection medication) she will have to take for the rest of her life; the risks of surgery for her and her brother; the potential for rejection and needing another kidney; the stress of dialysis; being away from her kids so much; and then there’s the nightmare of dealing with insurance (4 plans!), which she is lucky enough to have, and still not everything is covered. There are travel expenses (ferry and car 2 hours each way to dialysis, 3 hours each way to the transplant center), work time lost, co-pays and deductibles to meet, medical expenses for her donor, to name a few. She already owes thousands of dollars, and she hasn’t even had a transplant yet.

Jessie has never been one to share in her burdens. She has always fought and persevered through the many hardships in her life, of which there have been many. Unfortunately, the salary of a kitchen manager at a small island restaurant is not enough to raise two kids, pay for the hospitalization, the dialysis, the surgery, her brother’s surgery, the medication she will have to be on the rest of her life, and much more that health insurance does not cover. Here is where she turns to Help Hope Live. Here is where I hope her eternal kindness is rewarded. Here is where she must rely on the generosity of others.

Jessie has never been good at asking for help, but she realizes that this is not something she can do alone. I convinced Jessie to let me write this letter because I love her, and I do not believe she knows how much she means to our community. Any assistance you choose to give to Jessie would be so immensely appreciated and it wouldn’t just help her fiscally. It would help her breathe a little easier, give her more time with her kids, and grant her the much needed sense of serenity and peace that a diagnosis such as this one takes from you so abruptly. Thank you for reading this, and for your consideration. If you are able to help in any way, please click on the link below. Every donation helps!

Family and friends of Jessie Hallowell are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation.

Jessie has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

Thank you for your support!