AMY STAPLES

 

 

 

Hi there. My name is Amy Staples. I live near Springfield, Missouri, with my sweetheart of 30 years, James. We have 5 children, including 2 sons--one who has served in the U.S. Army and one who is currently serving. Our oldest daughter lives with us, and we have 5 of our 9 grandchildren living with us as well. It's quite a crowd!

 

I love to read, write, knit, garden, raise chickens, and watch movies. I've worked as a medical secretary and retail cashier for many years and love working with the public. For 2 years, I was a volunteer for the Patient Advisory Committee for our local Kidney Network and currently am a volunteer mentor for the National Kidney Foundation. I work to promote organ and tissue donation in general, and I enjoy my volunteer work immensely!

 

I was diagnosed at age 21 with Polycystic Kidney Disease, meaning that my kidneys have many cysts that crowd out healthy tissue and cause kidney failure. I began dialysis 11 years ago at the age of 44 and have been on the waiting list to receive a kidney for nearly 9 years. Both of my diseased kidneys have been removed, so I am completely reliant on dialysis in order to live. I've had many blood transfusions over the years, which, unfortunately, have caused me to build up antibodies toward foreign tissues, making me a tough match. And, I am quickly running out of access sites to do dialysis. Thus, I am in desperate need of finding a living donor who has Type O blood.  If you would like to be tested to see if you are a match for me, please contact my coordinator, Tham (rhymes with "Sam") Hoffman:

 

            Tham Hoffman

            University of Kansas Medical Center

            Center for Transplantation

            913-588-5049

            E-mail: jhoffman@kumc.edu

 

 

If you would like to learn more about me, check out my Facebook page, "Amy Needs a Living Donor Kidney." Please click on "like" first (in the upper right-hand corner), as that will help to circulate my story. Then click on "about" (in tiny type below my family photo on the left-hand side). To read the complete description, click "see more." If you would like to send me an e-mail, my address is amystaples32@yahoo.com. 

 

I would be very grateful if you would share my story with others. Thank you for reading it and for considering the possibility of giving me the gift of life.

 

                                                                             Blessings & Peace,

                                                                             Amy Staples

 

 

My sweetheart of 30 years, James, and I.

 

 Baxter sits on my lap while I do dialysis. She was a stray kitten living outside my first dialysis clinic 11 years ago. I named her after the manufacturer of the machine I was doing dialysis on when I found her.