Melissa Pappas

On a cold December day in 1995, Melissa was rushed to the emergency room with incredible low-back pain and a very high fever. She was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD); a progressive and genetic disorder where cysts form in the kidneys causing them to enlarge, and eventually shut down and fail. She has been on dialysis since 2005, and both of her kidneys had to be removed because they weighed over 25 lbs.

During the past eight years, Melissa has undergone numerous surgeries and medical procedures. In 2011, she had open heart surgery and a mechanical valve implant, due to a growth in her mitral valve from her long-term dialysis and kidney disease. She is still at risk for a stroke and heart attack, and is being monitored for a second open heart surgery, in the near future. Melissa’s only hope to survive and resume a normal life is to undergo a kidney transplant. The kidney transplant will be lifesaving for Melissa, but the costs are more than she can handle alone.

In order to remain on the “active” transplant list at the University of Virginia, Melissa is required to raise enough money for the uninsured medical expenses that Medicare does not cover. She will also be facing very high transplant-related expenses including temporary relocation and travel fees, deductibles and co-pays, doctor visits and laboratory fees, and anti-rejection medications that she will need for the rest of her life.

To help with this financial burden, a fundraising campaign in Melissa’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 South-Atlantic Kidney Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your kindness, generosity and support in reaching Melissa’s goal and answering her prayers of becoming a kidney transplant recipient.

Gratefully,

David Sneddon, Melissa’s loving husband
703-986-9756, [email protected]