Minnesota Twins Donation Request: Fill & Download for Free

My beautiful fiancée Rebecca is wheelchair enabled. Before she was wheelchair enabled her world outside the home was very small and getting smaller. Was the store she wanted to go to small enough to go through before she would tire out? If it was big enough did it have electric carts? Would one of those carts be available, working, and charged? Would she keep her balance if she was walking and someone grabbed her from behind because they thought she was ignoring their repeated oral requests for her attention and got mad at her apparent rudeness not realizing she is Deaf and they are putting her in danger of a broken bone while scaring the crap out of her.When she got Pinkie right before we moved to Minnesota suddenly we didn't have to worry about these things. She was finally free! I might not have been thrilled this meant one morning at the crack of dawn I was woken up by her bouncing on the bed saying she wanted to explore the Mall of America (4 floors of insanity just south of the twin cities complete with indoor amusement park and the 10th level of hell), but it was otherwise wonderful. Except for insurance denying coverage and her and her mom having to pay for it out of pocket on top of our moving from two different cities in Illinois to Minnesota.Pinkie was ordered when she was 150 pounds, she now weighs about 77 pounds, the chair that fit like a glove now is too wide and shallow and that causes her pain and so our outings are getting shorter and fewer. We modified it back in November/December, out of pocket since we didn't have insurance that would touch accessories for this chair and that helped for awhile but you just can't fix all your problems with a fancy cushion no matter how much you wish you could. All the experts agree we need a new chair for her and we need it now. We started the process and had the evaluation earlier this month and were devastated to be told that her primary insurance was likely going to take 3 to 6 MONTHS to deny her claim. Like pretty much no chance they will cover this chair but there is no way the claim can be submitted to the secondary insurance until the primary denies it. Then the occupational therapist and the supply company guy got into an argument about whether her secondary was likely to cover it or not, OT thinks there is a chance they will, supply guy thinks it is a denial waiting to happen. We have a third program here that likely will pay but it has to be denied by everyone else first, we are talking a good 6 months of her suffering, and then this wheelchair could be ordered. I've been on the phone bitching and whining with supply companies and case workers and insurance people and every single one says the same thing, “I'm so sorry, I wish I could help but it just takes time, there is nothing I can do to make it go any faster!”Her friend Michael Masiello heard about all this crap. He apparently is not a fan of red tape either having been thoroughly screwed by it recently himself. We resisted the offer at first, we have been trying so hard to navigate the system and make it work but him and the pain were relentless and the system just isn't fair. Last night he set up a Go Fund Me[1] page on her behalf, less than a day later there is over $4500 raised for a new custom wheelchair! We fired the incompetent supply company originally hired to work with us and have a new evaluation on October 1st with the company we trust and indicated we wanted to begin with, they've already lined up demo chairs for her to try even, by this rate we will have the funds to pay for the chair then and there and have it by the end of the month! Scrolling through the donor list, seeing people we know and love as well as complete strangers and people who chose not to say who they are, all reaching out and helping with something so vital to her wellbeing that I've been literally begging the system to do its job and give her and felt like a failure for not being able to find the one person who could cut through the tape and give her what she needs to keep going and not be trapped. Each and every person who has been a part of the Go Fund Me, donating and/or sharing it with those who could, has been that person. You have pulled us out of insurance hell and I can't express how grateful I am for each and every one of you. Thank you, thank you so so much!Footnotes[1] Click here to support Rebecca's New Wheelchair organized by Michael Masiello

You are not alone here. Despite what it may look like from the outside, millions of families have difficulty providing the trappings of Christmas for their kids. Christmas is also the largest season of generosity and busiest time of the year for many charities.Depending on your location and other qualifying factors, you may be able to get holiday assistance from a variety of organizations.National (USA)Catholic Charities USA: after finding your local agency, you can be matched with a family similar in size/age that will sponsor gifts for your children. You do not need to be catholic to be helped.The Salvation Army USA: those “red kettles” on street corners raise fund for the SA to meet needs including Christmas gifts for children (Angel Trees), bill-pay assistance, and free seasonal activities for families. You do not need to be Christian to be eligible for help, but you may be evangelized to during the process.Toys for Tots Foundation: request toys and gifts for children of all ages and be matched to donors through local firehouses, police stations, TV news shows, and other partners. No religious affiliation.YMCA Military Services Operation Holiday Joy: distributes thousands of gifts and food baskets to military families and military bases during the holidays. Must have one of more military members in the family to qualify.Local (various)The Pelagie Foundation (Hiram, Georgia): distributes over 1,400 toys to local children at Christmas time, and also provides food, gift cards, and employment help throughout the year.Hospitality House Youth Development (Twin Cities, Minnesota): hosts a “Christmas with Dignity” store that offers gifts for families and children at a fraction of what they would normally cost, according to a family’s financial needs.A Precious Child (Denver, Colorado): organizes “Giving Trees” at local malls that allow donors to shop directly for a child who wouldn’t otherwise receive Christmas gifts.Children's Restoration Network (Roswell, Georgia) provides Christmas gifts, meals, and assistance to families that are homeless or housing-insecure.Children's Action Network/Santacan's gift list on MyRegistry.com (Los Angeles, California): allows people around the world to shop for gifts on Amazon and ship them directly to the recipients, mainly benefiting foster children.Family Giving Tree (High Desert, California): creates listings for each child and their desired gifts, which donors can use to shop directly for the child.Wichita free holiday and Christmas assistance (Wichita, Kansas): offers bill pay assistance, gifts, books, toys, and food from multiple cooperating organizations over the Christmas holidays.If any of these options sounds like they would benefit your family, contact them early. I can’t emphasize this enough. Don’t wait until the week before Christmas, since many of them provide the most services from the week of Thanksgiving until December 15th. Some organizations ask you to submit paperwork proving you are a resident in their service area, others may require evidence of your lack of resources. You won’t know until you ask.I would like to add that if any of your children are school aged, their local school almost certainly has social services resources or partners with charities at Christmas time. Guidance counselors are usually in the know about what help can be provided, and they can be trusted to be discreet if needed.Same with local churches— even if you don’t attend the specific church or aren’t religious, ask about being sponsored. Many churches are eager to do some kind of “outreach” at the holidays and be personalize their help for your family's needs. Community centers can also be great directions resources, even if they don’t provide direct assistance.One final note:It can be humbling (or even depressing) to ask for financial help. You may be met with rejections because you don’t fit that charity’s narrow definition of someone they want to help. I wish I could offer more encouragement that yes, you will be taken care of, but I can’t. What I can do is urge you to keep trying. I’ve been the donor, and I’ve been the recipient. I’m blessed that now I’m able to give more that receive, but I will never forgot what it’s like to be on the other end of generosity. Some things are outside of our control, and rough years happen to everyone sometime.If anyone is reading this who is doing just fine and wants to help a family this Christmas, all of these organizations accept donations year round!If you have a favorite holiday charity for families, please do link it in the comments and I’ll add it.

The first successful organ transplant was a kidney.1954: On December 23, the first successful living-related kidney transplant led by Dr. Joseph Murray and Dr. David Hume at Brigham Hospital in Boston: A kidney was transplanted from Ronald Herrick into his identical twin, Richard. Read an exclusive New York Organ Donor Network interview with Dr. Joseph Murray (PDF) about this history-making transplant.1962: First successful kidney transplant from a deceased donor, led by Dr. Joseph Murray and Dr. David Hume at Brigham Hospital in Boston.1963: First successful lung transplant led by Dr. James Hardy at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS.1966: First successful pancreas/kidney transplant led by Drs. Richard Lillehei and William Kelly at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN.1967: First successful liver transplant led by Dr. Thomas Starzl at the University of Colorado in Denver, CO.1967: First successful heart transplant led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.1968: First successful heart transplant in the United States led by Dr. Norman Shumway at Stanford University Hospital, CA.1968: Uniform Anatomical Gift Act establishes the Uniform Donor Card as a legal document for anyone 18 years of age or older to legally donate his or her organs upon death.1972: End Stage Renal Disease Act (ESRD) paves way for Medicare Coverage of Renal Dialysis and Kidney Transplants.1981: First Successful heart/lung transplant led by Dr. Brice Reitz at Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA.1983: FDA approves Cyclosporine, the most successful anti-rejection medication developed to date; by 1984, two-thirds of all heart transplant patients survived for five years or more.1983: First successful single lung transplant led by Dr. Joel Cooper from the Toronto Lung Transplant Group, at Toronto General Hospital in Canada.1984: National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) establishes a nationwide computer registry operated by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS); authorizes financial support for Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs); prohibits buying or selling of organs in the United States.1986: Dr. Michael DeBakey performs the world’s first heart transplant in 14 years. (USA)1986: First successful double-lung transplant led by Dr. Joel Cooper from the Toronto Lung Transplant Group, at Toronto General Hospital in Canada.1986: Required Request Laws require hospitals to develop policies to identify patients as potential donors and approach families about organ donation.1988: FDA approves Viaspan, which greatly extends the preservation of donated livers.1989: First successful small intestine transplant (a near-total small bowel from a deceased donor) into a child, led by Dr. Olivier Goulet in Paris, France.1989: First successful living-related liver transplant led by Dr. Christoph Broelsch from Hamburg, Germany, at the University of Chicago Medical Center.1990: First successful living-related lung transplant led by Dr. Vaughn Starnes at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California. He transplants the lobe of one lung from an adult female into the woman’s 12-year-old daughter.1992: First baboon to human liver transplant performed by Drs. Satoru Todo, Andreas Tzakis and John Fung, under the direction of pioneer transplant surgeon Thomas Starzl, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.1998: National Conditions of Participation legislation enacted; required hospitals to refer all deaths, and imminent deaths, to the local Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs)1998: First successful hand transplant led by Australian Dr. Earl Owen and Frenchman Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard in a 13-hour long operation in Lyon, France.2005: First successful partial face transplant led by Dr. Bernard Devauchelle and Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard in Amiens, France.2008: Dr. Michael DeBakey, the world-famous cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such now-common procedures as bypass surgery and invented a host of devices to help heart patients, died on July 11, at the age of 99.2010: The world’s first full face transplant took place in Spain. The recipient was a man injured in a shooting accident. In July, the recipient who was only identified as Oscar (age 31), spoke with considerable difficulty at a news conference at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron hospital, where he was operated on in late March.