I Need Your Help:
I am Leesa and I need a kidney. I have end-stage renal failure due to very high fevers from an undiagnosed kidney infection at birth. I've had kidney problems all my life but unfortunately they were worsened when an orthopedist prescribed Advil to treat pain after a knee injury. Transplant is now my only long-term option.
I need an angel to step forward to save my life by volunteering to give me a kidney (blood type A or O). Tall order, I know. It's a big ask. So I'm not asking. But I am asking for your help in another way. There's something else that you can do to help me (and others with a similar need), even if you're not a donor: I need you to spread the word, and I'll show you how to do that in this post. Your job simply would be to get the word out about my need for a kidney.
Leesa Cohen Thompson
I am told that the more people who know of my need, the better my chance is of reaching a person willing to be an altruistic donor. So, now it's all about getting the word out. That's where you come in.
Who Am I?
I am a mother, daughter, volunteer, teacher and a person of faith.
For decades I’ve been passionate about our environment in New York’s scenic Hudson Valley. During the 1970 National Earth Day, as a teenager I became aware of the need to protect our world and participated in a cleanup of my high school grounds. I coordinated Earth Day 1990 at Bear Mountain State Park drawing over 30,000 participants and New York’s Governor, Mario Cuomo, gave the Keynote Address. For the last 36 years I have continued to volunteer at the Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival held to promote awareness of a cleaner Hudson River. Through my involvement with Riverlovers, Ferry Sloops, and the Beacon Sloop Club, I sail and encourage others to experience the beauty of the river. In conjunction with those groups I look forward to organizing local events for Earth Day 2020, God willing.
Professionally, I studied speech pathology, eventually doing early intervention, primarily in Hispanic communities. Typical clients are frustrated 2-year olds with very few words. Parents need help encouraging their children to play and communicate. I develop strategies to help those children.
To date, I have aided in facilitating communication strategies for hundreds of families in the Peekskill, NY area over my 25 years of public service. I have watched those families' children grow up to have fruitful, productive and happy lives.
Also, I am an active board member of a program (Pegasus) that helps kids struggling with physical, verbal or social issues by using horseback riding to help those children bloom.
And, I have 10 years of service with Destination Imagination teaching children to solve problems by thinking creatively.
I've always helped others. Now I need someone (any gender) to help me.
How to Help Me:
Give me 15 minutes (or more) and use that time to tell the world about this website (Kidney4Leesa.com).
- Email: Send this website to your friends (all of them) by email.
- Facebook: Post a small note on Facebook with a link to this website (icon above).
- Other Social Media Sites: Post a small note with a link to this website (icons below).
And ask your contacts, readers, friends and acquaintances to do the same (to give this webpage exponential distribution).
Why this is So Serious - My Options:
Most people have two well-functioning kidneys but can lead a full and equally healthy life with just one kidney. Both of my kidneys are almost fully shut down. So, medically I now have only two options to continue living:
- dialysis (life expectancy about 5 years)
- transplant (a new lease on life)
According to USRDS data, Kidney transplant recipients fare far better
than dialysis patients. I need those additional years in order to continue helping others.
My family members are disqualified as donors.
Also, if a willing donor is not an exact match, through an arrangement called "Paired Kidney Donation" (kidney swapping) a donor who is not a match for me might be a match for someone else and I would be eligible to receive that person's donor's kidney that would be a match for me.
Lloyd E. Ratner, MD New York Presbyterian-Columbia
Please help me by sharing this post with your own network of friends.
Shares = action, and action is what is needed now.
To Speak with Someone Confidentially:
If you'd like to speak with someone confidentially, please call Rivky at Renewal of Life* (718-431-9831 x 209), or email her at R23596@Renewal.org. My Patient ID is R23596. Your questions will be answered by a qualified person who is familiar with my case.
Speaking with a Renewal staff member is much better than speaking with me. They know far more than I do and you will get better information from them than from me. So please, feel free to contact Renewal.
Keep in mind that a confidential phone call to Renewal does not come with any obligations to proceed further.
Together, we can do it. Yes, we can.
Thank you,
Leesa
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*Renewal of Life Inc is an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to find and match kidney donors for those suffering from various forms of kidney disease.
Note: It is illegal to exchange money for a kidney. No such request will be granted any consideration.
