Melissa Schons & Andrew Bishop

Melissa and Andrew Need Your Help!

Melissa Schons Bishop, age 53, and her son Andrew, age 20, both suffer from the effects of a rare genetic disorder called Barakat’s Syndrome. Approximately 1 in 1 million are afflicted with this syndrome, which causes major medical issues including hearing loss, poor vision, dental problems, hypoparathyroidism, and worst of all, kidney failure. Melissa is currently in end-stage renal failure and on dialysis, receiving treatment 3 times a week. Andrew was blessed with a new kidney right before Christmas in 2015.

Melissa is a devoted wife and mother and a respected Greek and Latin language teacher and writer. To supplement classical high school textbooks, she creates online teaching aids. While struggling with the exhaustion of kidney disease, she has no longer been able to develop new materials for her online business. Unfortunately, her health has continued to decline and she now has respiratory failure, which makes her ineligible for a transplant.

Andrew is currently attending college at Columbia State University in Tennessee. In addition to Barakat’s Syndrome, Andrew suffered a stroke as a young child, resulting in brain damage that causes nearly constant seizure activity. Consequently, he is only able to attend school part-time, requiring significant support structures at home to maintain his schoolwork.

Extraordinary expenses are now arising because of these medical issues. After the kidney transplants, additional expenses will be incurred as well. This family is in need of your support and any financial assistance you can offer.

To help reduce the financial burden for this family, a fundraising campaign in Melissa’s and Andrew’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for 30 years. All donations are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Southeast Kidney Transplant Fund and are administered by HelpHOPELive for medically-related expenses only. If you can make a donation today, it will be most appreciated.

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

Your support is critical to the overall success of Melissa’s and Andrew’s struggle. Please know that your contribution counts. We thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

With sincere gratitude,

Dian Schons and Ed Schons
(Melissa’s parents, Andrew’s grandparents)

Dian: 201-803-7184, [email protected]
Ed: 973-403-0813, [email protected]