Transplant Warriors 24/7

Home
United States
Charleston, SC
Transplant Warriors 24/7

We fought to live so we can live to fight for you! We are starting this foundation to help patients and their supporters through the transplant journey.

Address

Charleston, SC
29412

Telephone

+19739318880

Website

https://transplantwarriors247.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Transplant Warriors 24/7 posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Transplant Warriors 24/7:

Shortcuts

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Charleston?

Our Story

Welcome to our page! We have both received the life-changing gift of a Transplant. We wanted to briefly tell you our stories and why we have started this Foundation. Our goal is to assist people in their journey to get healthy and on the transplant list. We have traveled their path and we know their struggle.

We are doing all of this to honor our donors. This originally began because Joe wanted to raise money for college for his donors' children. It quickly turned into a larger opportunity to help countless others and help them in their journey. Joe is currently the Volunteer Patient Advocate for Kidney Transplant patients at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Together, our goal with Transplant Warriors 24/7, is to help all patients reach their goals and get listed for what they need in order to survive.

Feel free to contact us at any time. If you are the recipient, a donor, or a supporter. You are all important in this process.

Joe Bueno's Story Founder/President My Journey started back in 2003 when I went to the doctor for back pain. They discovered I had Kidney Cancer and had to do 13 months of Chemotherapy (Cyclephosimite). It was the darkest time of my life, but I overcame Cancer and survived the chemo.

In March of 2010, I had a stroke in my sleep, my heart went into AFIB and I went into End Stage Renal Failure and started Dialysis in the Hospital after getting a chest catheter. That was the start of my 7-year journey on Dialysis. I had many struggles and setbacks while on Dialysis. I suffered 3 heart attacks and had a major bleed out and went into Hypovolemic Shock. I died 9 times in 15 years. I had to figure how to feel better and get on the Transplant List on my own, as I didn't receive much help from the Dialysis Center I was at. I was listed in January of 2012 and went through 5 calls for a possible match, only to be rejected after they found it wasn't a match. I denied my 6th possible match when I discovered there was a 17-year-old boy that was also waiting with me for his match. I walked away and let him have his chance for life. On October 23, 2016, I finally received the final call and got my transplant on October 24, 2016.

Maureen Kardell's Story Co-Founder/Executive Director

My journey began in January of 2018. I had just started a new job at a school and while doing the required blood work they noticed that my blood counts were off. At the same time, I also started feeling very nauseous and showing signs of yellowing of my skin and eyes. After a lot of tests, they were first concerned with my gallbladder. It quickly turned to concern about my Liver. I had to stop working by the end of February. They did a biopsy of my liver and discovered I had Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), also known as Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH). The diagnosis came so suddenly and with very little warning that there was no option for medication, I had to get a transplant in order to survive.

In June of 2018, I was referred to the Transplant Team at UPenn who helped me get all my pre-testing done very quickly. It was a very exhausting time, all I could do was sleep. I was at home with my three boys and our pets, so taking care of them was a struggle. But if not for them, I probably would not be here. The doctors were amazed that I was still doing the day to day things, albeit, the minimum. I was listed in October 2018 with UNOS. My MELD score was very high, near 38 at that time. I was blessed to receive a phone call on November 18, 2018, that they had found my match!