Need Financial Help After Kidney Transplant

Hi. My name is Elli Argenti.  I live in Daleville, AL. I moved down here from Lorain, OH in Dec. 2005 so that I could be close to my mom and sisters. I am dying. I have a kidney disease called Mesangial Proliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPG) Type I. My kidney function at this time is about 8%.  I have been on dialysis since March 2006. My sister, Jeanette, has offered her kidney. We have been evaluated several times by 3 different facilities and we are hoping that UAB (University of Alabama) will come through for us and approve a kidney transplant. I am now 48. I was married for 21 years, divorced in 2003 and have 2 boys, 21 and 19. I'm not working. I have worked since I was 16, with 2 years off when I had the boys. When I moved here, I looked for a job that would pay at least $10/hr. They are far and few between. You are lucky if you make $6.50/hr. That's considered pretty good for these parts. Sure, there's a military base right here and there's civilian contractors and the Civil Service, but you have to wait for someone to die or sleep with the entire department to get a job. I just don't have the time for that nonsense. I have no degree, but I have some college. Apparently, 30 years of experience doesn't matter. I applied for disability in March. While my kidney function has rapidly deteriorated since May 2004, I still continued to work. I had to pay rent and utilities and living expenses. Because I stopped working in December on my own to move here, my disability didn't start for Social Security purposes until March when I went on dialysis, even though I was in End Stage Renal Disease for the past 2 years. I worked and that was not allowed. SS makes you wait 6 months before they give you a disability check, so mine will come in September. I don't know how they expect you to live those 6 months without help. I understand the waiting period is to see if you get better, but if you are dying of kidney disease, you aren't gonna get better. I'm getting a small amount of SSI, but it's pretty much gone as soon as I write the checks for rent and utilties. My disability check will be somewhat bigger, but I still have to pay for medication that I will have to take for the rest of my life in addition to the usual expenses of day to day living. Medicare will pay for 80% of my drugs for 3 years.  Some of these drugs are in the hundreds of dollars, others just a few. I refuse to die because I can't afford my medication if I have the transplant. I will have some expenses that insurance will not pay. My mom and sisters help out as they can, but mom is on SS herself (old age - ha!) and my sisters have their own expenses and responsibilities. I am seeing a wonderful man, Gary, who is very supportive emotionally (he's still here even though I am sick) and helps out financially when he can (he has bills too -- don't we all?) I do not intend to remain disabled forever and I sure as hell don't want to die. I pray that I will have this transplant and be healthy again. But even if I do, it will take some time. I really do want to go back to work (crazy but jeez I am so bored at home).  And I want to get married again. But I can't do either until I am healthy. I cried when I called SS to apply for disability. I cried some more when the wonderful lady there told me that I could get SSI and food stamps (which I didn't take.)  The indignity was almost too much to bear. If anyone out there can help...and I know there are so many people out there needing help...I would be so grateful. I will try to help anyone I can by pledging what I can afford. I hate asking other people for help. It makes me feel like I failed somewhere in my life with my choices. I know that's silly, but here I am at 48 years old, asking strangers for help. It's very humbling.