Charlene Fero, facing life with a smile and a positive attitude.
In Need of a Kidney Transplant
This week I actually had planned on writing about a local school, but plans changed when one of my friends, Norma Thomas, sent me a message on Facebook. Norma said one of our mutual friends, Charlene Fero, had posted a request on her Facebook page for a kidney donor. Norma asked if I had seen it. Telling her I had, it sparked the idea that maybe I should pass the info along. If you follow my blog, you probably read about Charlene last fall. The blog was titled Favorite #64: Kidney Transplant Donors.
Always enjoying life to the fullest, Charlene has lived her entire life with a condition she knew eventually would lead to kidney failure. Although I’ve known Charlene for about five years, I guess because she was always upbeat and happy, I had no clue until she shared with me last year. Surprised, I soon learned she was born with a genetic condition known as Polycystic Kidney Disease, otherwise known as PKD. This condition eventually leads to kidney failure due to cysts that grow on the kidneys. Symptoms include headaches, back aches, hip pain, blood in the urine and high blood pressure.
Knowing I write a human interest column for the Salisbury Post, Charlene asked if I would write one about her and the need for a kidney donor. Since that column ran last October, Charlene’s condition has progressed to the point she’s now on dialysis. The doctors say because of her age it will probably take 3 to 5 years to find a donor match and that her best chance would be to find a live donor. As a result, Charlene posted the following heartfelt message on her Facebook page …
I am in desperate need of a donor kidney. If you are in good health, between the ages of 18-60, have blood type B or O and think you might be interested please message me as soon as possible. I have all the contact info, or you can call Carolina’s Medical Center in Charlotte, NC or Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC, asking for the donor number for kidney transplant patients. They will send you a donor package with all the necessary information. REMEMBER this will cost you nothing. My insurance will pay everything. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. God bless.
To learn more about Charlene or her condition, click here for the Salisbury Post link. If interested in being a donor or giving Charlene words of encouragement, send her a message on Facebook or call Carolina’s Medical Center (800-562-5752) or Wake Forest Baptist Hospital (336-713-5675). Even if you’re not a match for Charlene, there’s always a possibility you’ll be a match for someone else. Charlene, along with her family and friends will be forever grateful.
With this week’s blog being about friends helping friends, it was refreshing to see another post on Facebook this morning about that very thing. The entire state of North Carolina was hit hard a few weeks ago with an ice storm and High Point in particular suffered major damage. Since then different volunteer organizations have been helping with the clean-up. Here’s a link to one story that touched my heart, I hope it will yours, too. Called the Storm Before the Storm, it’s about the financial and emotional storms that were brewing, even before the ice, and how families in need have been helped in ways they never imagined.
Do you have stories of friends helping friends in your community? If so, leave a comment, message on Facebook or email dicysm@yahoo.com.
Thanks,
Dicy
www.dicymcculloughbooks.com/blog
