Transplant Type - Kidney

Without warning, this seemingly healthy woman received shocking news last year. After undergoing routine lab work, Pam's doctor discovered she was suffering from stage-5 kidney disease. Doctors have told Pam a kidney transplant is critical to her survival. While awaiting her lifesaving transplant, she must endure rigorous dialysis treatments three times a week.

Although she is typically a quiet, shy person, Pam's diagnosis has made her step out of her comfort zone to raise awareness for other patients like her. She has even hitchhiked to her dialysis center, which is more than an hour and a half from her home, to gain media attention for the lack of treatment available to dialysis patients in her hometown.

Pam is a loving wife and mother who has nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Because her husband, Arnie, has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, she also wants to take care of him rather than worrying about her own health. She looks forward to eating normal foods without so many restrictions and taking a road trip to visit her mother. More than anything she wants to spend many more years with Arnie watching their grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up. But she needs your help.

A kidney transplant costs approximately $250,000. And that's only the beginning. Even with health insurance, Pam faces significant medical expenses related to her transplant. For the rest of her life, she will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications. The cost of post-transplant medications can range from $2,000 to $5,000 per month--and they are as critical to her survival as the transplant itself.

Once Pam receives her transplant, she must temporarily relocate nearly 300 miles from her home for at least eight weeks to be closer to the transplant center during recovery, incurring substantial costs for travel, food and lodging.

You can help.
To make a donation to NFT in honor of Pam, click the link below her photo. If you'd prefer to send your gift by mail, please send it to the NFT Minnesota Kidney Fund, 5350 Poplar Avenue, Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119. Please be sure to write "in honor of Pam Baumchen" on the memo line.

Thank you for your generosity!

Patient Health Institute: Hennepin County Medical Center