Tonya (Diamond)’s fight against kidney disease

I am Joanne, Tonya Powell (Diamond)’s sister. I live in New York and she lives in North Carolina with her 15-year-old daughter.

Right after celebrating her 47^th birthday, Tonya went into renal failure in October 2017 with no warning or previous condition. She has been living on dialysis ever since. By the grace of god our sister Kisha is a medical match and they will be undergoing kidney transplant surgery on Thursday, April 5th, 2018.

Getting regular dialysis treatments, usually three times a week for four hours, to stay alive forced Tonya to work part time and changed her vibrant and healthy life. There was no warning or preparation for the diagnosis and fast progression of Tonya’s kidney disease. While she has, what most would consider, great medical coverage medical expenses, have ballooned and continue to rise. Her out of pocket costs are exorbitant. Tonya will be out of work for at least 2 months post-surgery and she needs all the help we can get. We are not sure what the total costs will be but we felt we needed to start something to help alleviate as much financial stress as possible so she can focus on treatment and healing.

All money donated will be used to pay for medical expenses not covered by insurance and to help with daily living expenses.

Thank you for your generous donation and most importantly thoughts and prayers!