Jimmy Hillegas

Jimmy Hillegas is a 52 year-old loving husband who suffers from end-stage-renal disease or kidney failure. Since October, Jimmy has been undergoing dialysis treatments three times per week, and each treatment takes up to four hours. Jimmy has been told by his physician that without a lifesaving kidney transplant, he will grow sicker and sicker and his time will eventually run out. Jimmy desperately needs your help, and his life depends on it.

Jimmy grew up in Roanoke, Indiana and graduated from Huntington North High School. He is an avid open wheel racing fan and has a passion for sprint cars, midgets, silver crown and Indy cars. Jimmy has been married to his loving wife, Tonya for over 13 years and their love for cars initially brought the two of them together. Tonya has decided to give the gift of life to her husband, by donating her kidney to Jimmy for his transplant. Tonya is currently testing to see if she is a match and suitable donor for Jimmy, and so far she has passed the first steps but has many more to follow. Jimmy wants nothing more than to undergo his surgery so he can once again enjoy life and everything he loves in life. Spending time and traveling with family and friends, his beloved dog Koko, and his passion for car racing and football, are temporarily on hold until Jimmy is in better health and off of dialysis treatments.

Transplants are lifesaving, but funding Jimmy’s surgery is monumental and he needs your help. Co-pays and deductibles, travel fees, temporary relocation and lodging, health insurance premiums and post-transplant out-of-pocket expenses will cost upwards of $2500/month. Anti-rejection medications to halt rejection will be needed for the rest of Jimmy’s life, as well as follow-up medical appointments, blood work and testing to check for rejection of his new kidney. These expenses are adding up to more than Jimmy can handle alone, and he desperately needs your help now and in the near future.

To help with this financial burden, a fundraising campaign in Jimmy’s 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 Great Lakes Kidney Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Jimmy has chosen to fundraise with HelpHOPELive in part because HelpHOPELive assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for donors. Donors can be sure that funds donated will be used only to pay or reimburse medically-related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, please click on the yellow Donate Now button. For more information, please contact HelpHOPELive at 800.642.8399.

Thank you ahead of time for your generosity, prayers and support. Jimmy and his family would like to thank everyone for their help and generous contribution as it means the world to them, and a better and brighter future for Jimmy!

Gratefully,

Jimmy’s loving friends and family