How God Does Kidneys

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you; before you were born I set you apart."


Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares The Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future."
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That picture is of my best friend, Bobbette, and her kidney donor, Courtney. It was taken a couple days after we all realized just how firmly in God's hands we were being held.

You see, Courtney lives in my hometown of Slidell, LA. She moved there not to long ago. It's not a big town, nothing really notable about it. She lives less than a mile from my grandparents. Last summer, her sister, Leanne, moved there and began working at First United Methodist Church. I spent the first 18 years of my life being raised in that church.

I randomly sat down a few chairs away from a man in the waiting room on the morning of Bobbette's surgery. He has a bag from the Komen 3 Day in Dallas under his chair. It belonged to his fiancee', who was donating a kidney that day. It was Phillip, Courtney's fiancee'. Courtney is a 3 Day Walker.

Courtney got the blog I wrote last December with the info on getting tested to be Bobbette's donor from Leanne, her sister. Leanne began following me on Twitter last summer because we are both Komen 3 Day Walkers. I walk on Team Betty as part of Remember Betty. We walk in memory of Betty Wood, mother of Danny Wood from the New Kids On The Block. There are dedication plaques on the doors of the hospital rooms at Vanderbilt. Bobbette's room was dedicated to a lady named Betty.

When the New Kids On The Block reunited, Bobbette was the one who got me to go to the concert. It was at one of the shows we went to that I heard Danny speak about Team Betty and decided to get involved.

Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids On The Block retweeted the blog from last December hours after it was written. Vanderbilt was overwhelmed with calls from fans wanting to be tested to be living donors. The number of people receiving organ transplants just from those calls is in the double digits. It does not include bone marrow, plasma or blood donors, nor the people who have chosen to donate after their death.

If God has a plan that puts together kidneys, small hometowns, reunited boy bands and breast cancer walks in to one package, I promise you He has a plan for your life.

Benefit for Bobbette

On June 18, we will be holding the 'Benefit for Bobbette Miller' in her hometown of Lobelville, TN. The proceeds from this benefit will go towards covering her surgical and post-surgical medical expenses. The average kidney transplant, including hospital stay, is approximately $40,000 - $50,000. However, because of Bobbette's pre-existing medical conditions, her surgery is expected to run upwards of $100,000. It could potentially reach $200,000, depending on the length of time she's required to stay in the hospital. This total does not include the medications she is currently on or the ones that will be added after her transplant. Insurance will cover approximately 80% of the surgical costs. The amount covered for the medications varies depending on which one we're talking about. The remainder of the costs will fall to us.

Yes. Us. Not her... US. Some may think I'm stepping out of line for speaking for all her friends and family, but I feel quite comfortable saying that none of us will leave her to carry this burden by herself. We take care of our own.

Benefit For Bobbette

June 18 -- 2pm til 7:30pm

Main St. in Lobelville, TN

Musical performances by Lost Creek, Coley McCabe, CJ Garton and more.

Silent auction featuring items from Michael McDonald, Darryl Worley, Keith Anderson, Gander Mountain, PF Chang's, and many more.

Food will be available for purchase, as well as a cake walk.

If you would like to donate items or gift cards for the benefit, please send them to the address below no later than June 17:

Benefit for Bobbette Miller

c/o Abbie Vicknair

124 S. 17th St.

Nashville, TN 37206

For those of you who cannot be there but would like to donate, you may donate via the Paypal button below OR a fund has been set up at a local bank:

First Bank

The Benefit of Bobbette Miller fund

Linden, TN

931-589-2161 - ask for Naomi
 

THANK YOU!!

Three Thousand Dollars, Two Lumps, One Port

I hit my $3000 fundraising goal for the Boston 3 Day last night. And while that would normally be a great moment and one that I would celebrate by dancing around my living room in my pjs (come on, you know you do it), it wasn't. Why?

One of my closest friends is heading to the doctor this afternoon. She found a lump the other day while working out. She's not quite 30. And while we don't know what this lump is yet, the fact is that she's anxious and we're all holding our collective breath.

Another friend found a lump this morning.

My stepmother has a port and is receiving chemo.

I can't look at any of them and say that $3000 is enough and still be able to sleep at night.