SIMON MEYER- A FAMILY'S LOVING SON NEEDS YOUR HELP!

SIMON MEYER NEEDS YOUR URGENT HELP

A friend of mine told me about this brave young man pictured above, Simon Meyer.

Simon urgently needs a living kidney donor transplant in order to live a normal life. His current condition is rapidly deteriorating and his parents have issued a plea to help save him. He is quite ill and in need of a kidney transplant.

His greatest hope for a successful transplant is for him to receive this transplant from a living donor.

Please think of how you would feel if it were your Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Daughter, Son, or other close relative in need of this life saving gift. 

I can’t think of a much greater gift to give someone than a second chance at life. You are also giving them back to their family, as the family also suffers when a loved one is so ill.

LETTER FROM SIMON MEYER'S PARENTS:
Last spring our family made a widespread appeal, asking for someone to donate one of his or her kidneys to our son, Simon, as his transplanted kidney was failing. There was a positive response to our request; many people came forward to help. Although several individuals were tested, none of them were a suitable match for Simon.

A year has now elapsed, and Simon’s health continues to decline. So we are re-launching our appeal in hopes of identifying a donor for Simon, who wishes only to return to high school next fall – healthy enough to complete his senior year.

While you may or may not know my son or our family personally, perhaps you will be moved to step forward as a donor after reading this letter. We hope you might be willing to discuss this with your family, e-mail this note to your friends, post it on Facebook, or circulate it throughout your professional community. The more people who hear about Simon’s situation, the more likely it is that someone will offer to donate a kidney to him. Here is Simon’s story:

Simon will turn 19 on May 21. He was diagnosed with total renal failure at the age of nine and required a life-saving kidney transplant in 2004 just after he turned ten. Susan, his mother, had the perfect kidney match for him, and the transplant was successful. Unfortunately, within a year, Simon developed lymphoma and sustained a viral attack that damaged the transplanted kidney. 

Simon has marched on for nine years, despite dwindling kidney function, which has left him fatigued and with dangerously out-of-whack blood chemistry. He has managed to complete three years of honor-level work at Drew High School in San Francisco, where he also competed on the Varsity badminton team and excelled in science and improvisational drama. While he has been out of school this entire academic year, not well enough to attend or focus on academics, he is not sitting idle at home. 

Simon volunteers for two local science programs, teaching one class about animals and the environment, and another instructing children in engineering, using Lego Robotics activities. In addition he collects and trades rare pennies, is a self-taught pianist, and is an accomplished magician with a number of dazzling tricks in his repertoire.

Doctors agree that a living donor would give Simon the best opportunity to receive a new kidney, avoid dialysis and regain his health. The testing process ensures that the donor is healthy enough to donate and that his or her kidney is a match. With a successful transplant, Simon would return to high school in the fall and the donor would resume their life – as did Susan – with no change in activities or health, knowing that their selfless act gave life back to our precious son.

If you are between the ages of 25-50, with Type A or Type O blood and willing and able to donate a kidney to Simon, please contact me at:

themeyerfamily@mac.com. 

There is also a website that the family has created which contains daily updates and more information:

 

Click on HERE to read their Website.

Simon’s current condition necessitates an expedited process. 

It is our hope and intention to have the potential donor begin testing as soon as possible and to plan for a June transplant, if all goes well. All medical expenses will be covered by Simon’s insurance.

We are available to provide you with additional information and to connect you with our Donor Coordinator, who will schedule your compatibility blood test. 

We recognize the magnitude of asking someone to donate a kidney. Our family greatly appreciates your consideration of this appeal; we have been deeply moved by the continued support of our community of friends.

Above letter is written by Danny Meyer and Susan Mack.


I wanted to add some additional information below:

A person does not have to be so-called "medically perfect" to donate. Life goes on completely normal for anyone after they donate. The surgery is done Laparoscopically and the donor is usually home from the hospital in 2-4 days. They are usually back to work in 1-2 weeks.

A person can live a perfectly normal life with 1 kidney as your other kidney will adjust its functioning to act as there are two there. One in 700 adults are born with 1 kidney and do not even know it and live a perfectly normal life.

It has also been proven that people who are kidney donors tend to live longer than non donors because their health has been screened so closely prior to donation.

More than a 100,000 people in this country are in need of a lifesaving organ transplant, and an average of 18 people die every day waiting for a donor. It is estimated that the current waiting list would take 5 years to meet the needs of the current donors, yet the list grows daily.

To view the transplant waiting list in real time numbers, it is updated several times daily, you can click here.

Please spread this request from Simon and his parents as far and wide as you can.

For those of us who care, the value of one human life should be too great to comprehend -"Whoever saves a single life, it is as if he had saved the whole world."