by “The Meaning Of Life Is To Find Your Gift. The Purpose Of Life Is To Give It Away” – Pablo Picasso
Middleburg Hts resident and Berea-Midpark High School Tennis coach Keith Hall is in need of your help. The 43 year old father of two Berea-Midpark students has suffered from severe kidney issues the last 22 years of his life. He suffers from inherited, incurable, chronic kidney disease called Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). What this means is that his kidneys produce cysts (fluid sacks) causing them to become enlarged. Normal kidneys are roughly the size of a fist and weigh about 1/3 of a pound, his are the size of a football and weigh over 5 pounds each.
Over the last few years, his kidney function has declined severely and his most recent bloodwork showed they are only functioning at 18%. Hall’s nephrologist at the Cleveland Clinic has referred him to the transplant center to begin approval for a kidney transplant and to be placed on donation lists.
His case will be presented to the transplant board in the next month or so. When he is approved, he can then be placed on transplant lists for cadaver kidneys. Wait times on these lists can range from 2-6 years. Unfortunately, his blood type puts him in the lowest cadaver match percentage.
Even with his function at only 18%, fortunately, he has not had to begin dialysis and hopes that he never has to before receiving a transplant. Transplants are more successful and have a longer longevity if the recipient has never been on dialysis. The best chance for this scenario, combined with his blood type, is to receive a living donation.
If you would like to learn more about this process, please visit https://my.clevelandclinic.org/…/living-kidney-donation as they have quite a bit of educational materials.
He needs your help, his children need your help, his wife needs your help. Bottom line, his family needs him around and this fight for new kidneys is a tough one, but a long way from being over with your help. As a father of two daughters myself, my heart breaks for this situation as I know just how important it is for daughters to have their dad around!
Keith has given so much time to help the youth of the Berea-Midpark area and beyond. While he coaches varsity Tennis, he is also an active member of the AAU organization ran out of team MAC. He works hard as a full-time employee at a normal job, and coaches on the side, also volunteering his time as well. This is a guy who deserves the help of others. He is a brother, a father, a husband, a friend and a son, please help him!
You have a chance to be a hero, to save a life, to give someone the gift of life. I truly do not believe there is a greater gift in this world then giving someone the gift of life.
You can reach out to Keith Hall at the below link to begin to find out how you can help his wonderful family at this time.
Link to Keith Hall – https://www.facebook.com/keith.hall.9279
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