Chronic Renal Failure medical costs and to fund an overnight Dialysis machine

Leonel Morales, is a single father with Chronic renal failure who is in dire need of purchasing an overnight automated dialysis machine to help improve his quality of life and to be able to continue to raise and support his 10 years old son, whom he loves dearly. He is also a dear life long friend of mine.

Please help me help Leonel!

Here's Leonel's story:

Leonel Morales is a 51 years old and lives alone in a small apartment in Guatemala City, Guatemala and has no family other than his 10 year old son. Leonel was struck 16 years ago with diabetes melitus II, hipertension and arterial fibrilation, which despite of his his efforts to eat as healthy as he could afford, his kidneys started deteriorating to the point that he has been diagnosed with Chronic Renal failure and a severe anemia.

His Nephrologists have urged him to start Peritoneal Dialysis or his life will be in danger, as one of his kidneys is already 6 cm and the other one 8 cm in size, his current creatinine level is 8 mg where a normal level would be 0.6 - 1.2 mg, the doctors are
trying to keep the biggest kidney to function a little longer by injecting Leonel with Erithopoyetina and 3 doses or iron through an IV every week in the hope that this kidney lasts a little bit longer and gives Leonel a chance to get into dialysis.

The Peritoneal dialysis requires to be performed every 4 hours, and even though Leonel is unemployed (due to the high unemployment situation in Guatemala where the majority of the population being hired are under 35 years old); He works on his own, by doing any household plumbing and electrical jobs they come around plus selling used toys in the market, which barely leaves him enough to support himself and his 10 year old son and to purchase his medicine. To op it off, like most unemployed people in Guatemala with no health insurance, he has to rely on the public health care which is currently suffering a lack of medicine.

If Leonel starts the Peritoneal dialysis (every 4 hours), he will not be able to continue to perform the job he has been doing as once he has the catheter placed in his abdomen, it can easily be infected with any inpurities that can go directly into his blood stream , causing a severe infection to losing his life, his hope of applying to a regular job that will include Health Insurance will be shot down completely.

This is the reason his nephrologist suggested him to purchase an automated overnight dialysis machine, which will give him the option to not only perform the dialysis during the night but also be able to work and live a better quality of life during the day, while a compatible kidney transplant arrives. Unfortunately this machine is not covered by the public healthcare in Guatemala due to costing approximately Q37,000 - Q40,000 + the fluids needed by the machine to perform the dialysis (about $7,000).

Once he starts the dialysis with this machine which will allow him have a better quality of life, he should be able to either get a solid job at a company that carries health insurance which will cover the fluids or while by continue to do the job on his own and save money to purchase more fluids.

I personally will be going through compatibility tests in Guatemala in the near future, in the hope that if we are a match I will be able to donate him one of my kidneys; However in the meantime, he needs to survive on dialysis. If we are not compatible, he will need to be on dialysis until a cadaver kidney comes along.

Leonel gets up every morning and tries to stay positive about his day despite of his deteriorating health and continues to do any jobs they come about, his inspiration is the hope that God will help him resolve his health situation and continue to be with him for a while longer. Sometimes he may be limping or in pain, but he tries not to let that bother him, he thinks on his son that means the world to him.

If you are reading this story and would like to help, you can do it in a couple of ways:

1) By a donation, where no amount is too small, and may God multiply it to you,
2) sharing this story with people you know, or
3) if you know of someone that was on this type of dialysis may no longer needs the machine (in good working condition) and would like to either donate it or sell it at a reasonable price.

Please know that by helping Leonel, you are also preventing a child to be left growing up without a loving father.

Should you need a copy of a health certificate or test results in Spanish, please kindly send me message and I will be happy to provide it to you. You may also call or e-mail Leonel through facebook at facebook.com/Leonel.morales.31149359 in simple english or spanish.

Pictures are provided for you to meet Leonel and his son David. Leonel is a loving father who daily attends to his son after school, helping him with his school work, playing with him and

Lastly no matter what you decide to do, please keep Leonel in your prayers so God helps him resolve his situation.


Thank you and May God bless you for your help!