Christmas will be coming a couple weeks early for Julie Lindsey
this year.
The 11-year-old girl from Galloway received the news Wednesday
night that Adam - a 23-year-old man she had never met - decided to
undergo testing with the hopes that he could give Julie one of his
kidneys.
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And he wanted it done before
Christmas. The family doesn't know Adam's last name and just
found out that there was another possible donor on November 13. Four
days later, they got the news. Julie's family and their friends have
been working tirelessly to find a donor and to raise the money for
her surgery since the girl was diagnosed with end-stage renal
failure in May.
With only one test left to go, doctors have already scheduled
Julie's transplant surgery for December 7 at Children's Hospital in
Columbus.
"We're just flabbergasted that someone would come forth who
really doesn't even know Julie," said the girl's great grandmother,
Dorothy Adams, of Zanesville. "But he was touched by her situation
and felt that this was something he needed to do."
Adams has been rallying the Zanesville community to help the
family raise $50,000, which is how much Julie's and her donor's
surgeries will cost her family. Her donor is not responsible for any
of the costs associated with the surgery or recovery. The donor's
lost wages, however, will not be paid.
The most recent local fund-raiser for Julie was put on by the
Ohio Appalachian Wrestlers Association. Adams said the event raised
about $1,600.
"Those wrestlers were just wonderful with Julie," Adams said.
The family will continue to conduct fund-raisers and ask for
donations to pay for Julie's surgery and medication.
Michelle Hartz, patient campaign specialist for the Children's
Organ Transplant Association, the non-profit organization
spearheading Julie's fundraising efforts, said the campaign has
raised about $14,000 of its $50,000 goal. The exact figure couldn't
be pinned down because the campaign is frequently receiving
donations. Though Julie's family will likely not reach the $50,000
goal by the time her surgery happens, Hartz said COTA will continue
to help the family.
"What normally happens is (COTA) makes payment arrangements with
the hospital," Hartz said.
Currently, COTA is working with 200 patients who either still
need their surgeries and to raise money or who have already had
their surgeries and have yet to finish their fund-raising efforts.
"We've worked with almost 1,000 patients total," Hartz said. Most
of those patients are under the age of 21, though the organization
does help patients suffering from genetic disorders, particularly
cystic fibrosis.
Sue Gantt, Julie's maternal grandmother who lives in Dayton, was
on a business call when she received an e-mail informing her about
Julie's likely kidney donor.
"I almost had to excuse myself so I could cry, but I got through
it," she said.
In October, Julie's health started to fail and doctors thought
something might be wrong with her liver. After completing a round of
medication, Julie's health improved.
"It's the best news that I ever had in my whole life," Gantt
said. "The donor is remarkably amazing in that he did all these
tests on his own. He said he felt that God was telling him to give
his kidney."
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