My husband, Daniel R. Skeen was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in February ’07.  His doctors told us his cancer was rare for his age and extremely aggressive.  Daniel endured over 180 chemo treatments and really strong medications in an attempt to handle the constant pain throughout his entire body which affected him mentally, physically and emotionally. 

All this led up to his stem cell transplant which took place on September 14th of this year.  Before his diagnosis, we ran a small business in Knoxville and surrounding communities.   At this time I was fortunate that I was able to run the business with him and be a stay- at- home Mom with our son.  Zachary now 7 years old is home schooled because he travels to Nashville frequently for Daniel’s treatments and because it helps to prevent Zachary from bringing home potentially dangerous illnesses to his dad.

We are Daniel’s entire world.  I am mother, teacher, spouse, caregiver, driver cleaner, cook, playmate etc., you name it and it is me.  Since Daniel’s diagnosis, we had to close down our business.  As a result we began having financial problems and lost almost everything we own.  If not for the members of the North Knoxville,   Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN (W. Oldham Avenue, Knoxville, TN 3917), we would have been totally devastated, hungry and homeless.  During this time, we had to take advantage of an offer from a local Knoxville Holding Company that was suppose to help us save our home.  The business did not do anything they promised they would do.  Our monthly payments even went up on our lease purchase contract and local owners of this business did not make our payments and allowed our home to go into foreclosure knowing Daniel had cancer. 

Here we were for Daniel’s stem cell transplant and we were facing eviction for Mortgage Fraud.  It was such a dramatic event for us and our son when we opened our front door and saw policemen standing in our yard ready to move our possessions until they heard our circumstances and our story.  We have seen so many miracles and so many prayers answered since Daniel’s diagnosis.  My time is spent caring for my family using any available resource I can find.  God sent donations we’ve received.  Our family is now staying at the Wal-Mart hospitality House in Nashville, Tennessee.  We go to the stem cell clinic at Vanderbilt Medical Center each day to determine if Daniel has any medical needs and to find out about his condition.  They tell us we will be here from 30 to 60 days.

Daniel had endured much and will learn how to live with Multiple Myeloma since there is no cure.  Zachary is a wonderful little boy that has been through quite a bit because of his dad’s cancer, and even though I find without warning the strength to keep going to keep caring for my family even though after two years of non-stop service I am extremely tired.  When we return to Knoxville, Daniel’s immune system will v down for over a year which means, we will not be able to restart our business for some time.  I will continue to be his 24/7 caregiver, spouse, cleaner, Zachary’s mother, teacher and playmate.  We continue to pray and send our story everywhere.  So far, Daniel’s transplant seems to be on the right track and he has to learn to live with his cancer, be we are praying that we can save our home and recover in our home for Daniel’s, Zachary’s and my well-being.

Skeen Family

Knoxville, TN 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MYELOMA GO TO:

www. myeloma.org

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

My name is Warren Brown, Jr. and I am a member of the Macon County community  in the state of Georgia.  I served in the Law Enforcement Department in the city of Montezuma.  I am also a member of the Masonic Mason Brothers. 

For the past several years I have been suffering with failing kidneys.  I currently take five hours of dialysis several times a week.  I was initially diagnosed with hypertension.  With my hypertension the doctors never could find the correct combination of medicines to help me. The different combinations the doctor experimented with initially caused facial swelling and then my lower extremities to swell.  I caught pneumonia several times. 

The first type of dialysis I was on was home dialysis which caused me to be more prone to potentate infections of which I was a victim of on three different occasions.  Eventually my problems became so severe with my kidneys that I referred to and put on the Georgia Transplant list.  As some of you may know dialysis drains and individual, which leaves us weak for at least a day after the dialysis treatment.

I am financially unable to handle this alone and of such I am seeking the assistance of my brothers and sisters in Christ.  I am still short on my monies for the operation. 

I sincerely thank you and wish God’s blessing on each and every one of you. 

Gratefully yours,

Warren Brown, Jr

Macon , GA

Hi, my name is Wayne Glover, I am a renal patient.  I lost my kidney in 1996 due to hypertension.  I received a kidney transplant in 1998, but the kidney only lasted six years.  I became very sick after the kidney failure.  Sometimes I was only able to tolerate a spoon full of food during the day.   I had pneumonia twice, I’ve been on crutches and I was in a wheel chair.  Currently I am using a walking cane.  I weighed 240 pounds.  I went from a 42 in the waist to a size 30.

My wife had to stay out of work to take care of me and our two children.  I have always had a dream for me and my wife and that is to renew our vows.  My wife and I were never able to have a dream wedding and with all that we have had to endure these past years, I want to do something special for my wife for all she has done for me and all that she means to me.  Our recent endeavors with the transplant and my numerous illnesses have given us a new spirit in Christ; therefore we wish to renew our vows to each other and to Christ. Our 25th wedding anniversary is approaching and we were married on November 9, 1984, when we really wanted to get married on my birthday November 7th.

  Now we will make one of my dreams come true.  I want this for my wife who has been a real warrior by my side.  She is my rock.  We will celebrate our vows before God at Spring Hill CME located at 7566 Asbury Road, Gordon, GA at 3:00pm.  I am a man with three kidneys and I am on the transplant list waiting for another kidney to keep me alive. I still have my two original kidneys with the replacement on top of my original right kidney.  My entire family has been faithful members at our church Spring Hill CME.  When we had no where else to turn our church has always been actively supportive of my family and we to them.

Unexpectedly, my wife and I were challenged with having to care for a family member, she is five years old.  Her family is not able to take care of her.  We are unable to receive any kind of assistance to help us with her care; however, God continues to provide.  I have received all my strength from my family, my church and God.  This too shall pass.

Wayne Glover

Macon, GA

I  am an Italian and African American female.  I was born to Gaither H. Brooks Jr. and Donna Marie Brooks on September 10, 1973.  I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 5yrs. old.  It was a struggle trying to manage my diabetes from the age of 5 up thorough my college years.  I didn’t always make the best decisions when it came to my health so I developed some complications.

My vision is not as sharp as it used to be and I had to have laser surgery in both eyes.  I then developed cataracts in both eyes as well and had to have surgery for that as well. Implants have been insert in each eye.  My vision has drastically improved but not at 20/20.  I also have Neuropathy in my legs and feet.  That is when you have poor circulation and the blood flow doesn’t get to where it needs to go efficiently.  I have lost some of the feeling in my feet due to the Neuropathy.  I also have a little bit of Osteoporosis which I take Vitamin D pills for because my bones are not strong, but brittle.  I fell and broke my ankle in 3 places and have screws and pins in it due to the Osteoporosis.

The major complication came when my kidneys stopped working properly.  I wasn’t able to keep my job and became really sick.  I had no energy and never felt good on any day.  I went on dialysis, peritoneal dialysis.  I did this dialysis at least 3-4 times a day.  The first surgery’s that they did to place the catheter in for my dialysis, didn’t take or work.  For the next four months I was on dialysis, it was hard but necessary and helped me feel a little bit better.

  Finally I got the call from Centennial Medical Center and they were pleased to inform me that they had a kidney for me.  I was in the hospital for 3 days and left with a new kidney and a second chance at life.  The kidney was donated by a wife who had lost her husband.  If for no other reason I needed to take care of this precious gift not only for myself but for the husband as well.   This was a gift from God and the donor and I felt like I was living for two people now. 

I’ve had my kidney for almost 4 yrs. now since June 25, 2006.  It’s working well with my body.  However, I do still have to watch what I eat, exercise, and most importantly drink lots of fluids.  I am required to drink at least 96 oz. of fluids a day to keep my kidney functioning properly.  I have had no major problems and have a lot more energy and purpose in life.  I don’t work because of my diabetes and kidney problems.  I have good days and I have bad days but at least I have days to look forward to.

I have tried to find something to preoccupy my time with these illnesses and it has taken a while. 

I have found something I love doing and it lets me express my feelings in my own way.  I do abstract art paintings and write poetry.  It gives me a sense of happiness and gives people something to relate to and I am hoping that this inspires the next person in anything that they are going through.  I am hoping to receive a pancreas transplant which would eliminate my diabetes.  Diabetes is the root to all those complications that I described and if I’m blessed to receive one then I would be completely happy.

 

If you would like to check out my website for my abstract paintings you can do to:  www.theredstarvingartist.com .  I will be updating the site periodically to put more paintings up.  Here is a sample of one of my poems that I wrote to the donor’s family when I received my kidney transplant.

A Second Chance At Life

By Lisa Marie Brooks

I thought my world was coming to an end

Thoughts of suicide were slowly coming in

Two years of waiting on a transplant list

I wonder if today would be the day I wished

Miracles can happen, they happen every day

My prayers were answered and sent along the way

This kidney that I have was donated from the start

I am truly thankful to the Donor with all my heart

I share a common organ with someone that’s so dear

I’ll always have them with me always and near

I feel the Donor’s presence it’s keeping me alive

I now have a new outlook I can say that I

It’s the act of kindness on everyone I see

It’s precious to see what the Donor gave to ME

Thank you,

Lisa Marie Brooks

Nashville, TN

I, Reverend Jacob Maxey have been a dialysis patient for 21 years, a victim of high blood pressure which assisted in taking my kidney functions.  I am a single parent with young children.  It is a challenge for me to manage a household on a fixed income.

While under the care of my primary care physician hypertension alone was not the cause of my kidney failure, but not being properly diagnosed by my physician led to my kidney failure. Angry, depressed, misused, and abused is how I felt.  I now have a new perspective on life and I believe God has me on a mission to serve his people in a mighty way.

My goal along with raising my young children is to enter the Inter-Denominational Theological Seminary for further study, and to become an African Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop.  I wish to follow in the foot steps of the great Bishop Richard E Allen, founder of the movement, and my relative Bishop R. I. Wilkes, a great progressive Minister, and a mover and a shaker in the A.M.E. church.

Rev. Maxey

Atlanta, GA

Romans 8:18 "Yet we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later." NLT