Hello my name is Cole and I’ve been dealing with declining kidney function since the age of 15. Recently it has gotten much worse and I’m now in stage 5, which is end stage. My kidneys function at roughly 12%. For many years things were stable, and I got the thought in my head that maybe my kidneys healed and got better. So there was a time period for about two years where I didn’t go to the doctor. I felt fine so in my head I must have been fine. Being a young man in my early twenties I just wanted to live a fun carefree life like everyone else so I did that. Unfortunately those two years I didn’t know my kidneys were being rapidly destroyed and then in November of 2024 I went into the hospital for an injured foot, and when they took my blood they saw that all of my levels were dangerously high and my blood pressure was through the roof. They told me to immediately go to the emergency room and that’s when I found that my kidneys were nearing complete failure and now I’m forced to live a life that is way more restrictive than it needed to be. It’s scary and not fair but it’s something I have to deal with and get through. During this time in November I was in the hospital for about a week and ended up being fired from the best job I ever had. It was completely unfair and straight up illegal. I was fired because my kidneys were failing. If I didn’t sign the severance agreement they presented me in a time of crisis after learning I was fired I would have easily been able to sue them and win. Firing someone over health issues is against the law. I was unemployed for about two months before getting a job at FedEx which was going great, until medicaid decided to drop me. I had medicaid for my entire life and now that my health issues are way worse and my medical bills are much more expensive they dropped me. Thats american healthcare for you. Unfortunately fedex’s best health insurance still isn’t enough to cover my medical expenses so I’m forced to work two days a week so I can qualify for medicaid again. I’m currently now making roughly $1200 a month which isn’t enough to pay for rent, food, bills and gas. As a 26 year old man it really isn’t a good feeling making a fundraiser. I want to be able to contribute to society and support myself like everyone else but with my health on the line and the overbearing unfairness of our healthcare system it is putting my life on hold entirely. I can’t move forward until I get through this and hopefully get a kidney transplant within the next couple years, hopefully sooner. Aside from the financial aspect of my situation, with my kidneys being near failure I’m beginning to experience symptoms of constant overwhelming fatigue and weakness, as well as brain fog and confusion. Your kidneys are responsible for filtering your blood. When they don’t work properly it causes toxins to build up in your blood stream from the food you eat and it affects every single other part of your body and causes a wide array of issues. This makes it hard to work and live a normal life. I will also be on dialysis soon, which will put even more of a hinder on my ability to live normally. Despite all of this I am surrounded by amazing people who make me feel loved and without that things would be far worse.
I never wanted to ask for donations but I feel that I’ve done everything I can and I could really use some help, and that it’s worth a shot. Any amount of money will help ease some stress in my life so I can at least focus fully on my health and work towards living a normal life again. The money would go towards my rent, bills, food and car for the next few years that I’m going to be dealing with this. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and if you donate any amount of money just know that I couldn’t be more thankful.