Dear Family and Friends,
At the age of 22, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. The disease was discovered very much by accident. I was having an ultrasound to help diagnose a stomach issue and a heard the words from the technician: “Have you ever heard of Polycystic Kidney Disease? Because you have it.”
To say I was stunned would be an understatement. You see, 99% of the time, Polycystic Kidney Disease is an inherited condition and families are aware of it. Having no family history of the disease, I am one of the unlucky 1% who has a genetic mutation.
Polycystic Kidney Disease is a condition where cysts grow on and in your kidneys. For about 50% of the people afflicted with the disease, this leads to complete kidney failure. Currently there is no known treatment or cure. Over the last 22 years, I have been having my kidney function tested: at first, once a year, then twice a year and now every 4 weeks. With each test, I witnessed my kidney function gradually decline. Currently, I am in end stage kidney disease. My kidneys are functioning at 13% and it is not a matter of if they are going to fail, but when. My kidney doctor thinks I will be in full kidney failure within the year.
I have worked hard over the intervening years, following a special diet and other measures to delay the inevitable outcome. I have several incentives for doing so, including my beautiful 8 year old son, and my wonderful wife, Susan. Susan and I, both, together, would like to see our boy graduate from college and have a family of his own.
What are my options to live long enough to experience that? The most ideal option is to have a kidney transplant and I am “listed” to receive a cadaver kidney. According to my transplant surgeon, best case, I will need to wait about 6 years for a cadaver kidney to become available. My other transplant option is to receive a kidney from a living donor. If I am blessed enough to find a living donor, I could have a kidney transplant within the next 3 to 6 months. Ideally, I would receive a transplant before my kidneys completely fail and I need to go on dialysis.
Besides allowing me to receive a transplant before my kidneys completely fail and allowing me to avoid dialysis (a pretty big deal), “Living Kidney” transplants have a higher success rate and tend to last around 25 years, about 10 years longer on average than a cadaver transplant.
So how can you help?
First of all, please keep me in your prayers, for both my health and ability to get a kidney as quickly as possible.
Second, please consider being a living donor. A living donor is someone who chooses to donate one of his or her kidneys. This person may be a blood relative or unrelated to the recipient. This is a very safe procedure for a donor. A donor can live a long, happy, and healthy life with one kidney. Donors are pre-screened and tested very thoroughly before donation to ensure that removing a kidney will not affect their health in any way. Only donors who are determined to not be at risk either now or in the future are accepted. Additionally, all potential donor medical tests and the surgery are covered by my insurance.
If you or someone you know would like to give or is interested in learning about “The Gift of Life,” please give the Pinnacle Health Transplant Program’s Living Donor Coordinator a call at (717) 231-8751. State that you are interested in being a living donor. This phone call is confidential and I will not be informed if you have called. There is no risk in learning more.
For additional information, you can read the other downloads on this Facebook page, and visit the Pinnacle Health web site at:
http://www.pinnaclehealth.org/services/donor-info
or
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKFCP
Thank You for your consideration and prayers,
Paul Billy
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Just read Paul's FB page letter. I am posting it here for those who do not like or use FB. 
