Heart And Kidney Disabled 55 Year Old Man Seeks Grant Money For Water Well

by Keith Mitchell
(Grants, NM, USA)

The log cabin that I built

I am a 55-year-old male. I have worked in the service industry since I was 14 years old, as a mechanic, a truck driver, a miner and construction worker.

I have 3 grown children and 9 grandchildren. I am divorced, although my wife and I have been back together for 12 years and she lives here with me.

In 2005 at the age of 49, I had the first heart attack. They put a stent in the artery and everything seemed fine. I went back to work to pay the medical bills.

I had no insurance and had not been at the new job long enough to qualify, so we got a mortgage on our home to pay for the medical bills.

Working extra hard, we got the mortgage paid. Then in 2008 at age 52, I had heart attack number 2.

They had to put another stent in another artery and while I was in the hospital, it was discovered that my kidneys were failing.

At that time I was in Stage 4 renal failure with only 19% use of my kidneys. After having 2 heart attacks and then kidney failure, I was no longer able to pass a physical to have a CDL and drive a truck.

The disability case went through in July of 2010 and I was enrolled in Medicare in February of 2011.

We live in the mountains in a log cabin that I built myself, while still working a job as well.

I had planned to be able to work long enough to have a well drilled to supply our home with convenient water.

This is very costly due to the depth of the water table. The kidney failure has since progressed to Stage 5, end stage renal failure with only 13% function.

I have to consider imminent dialysis and possible emergency kidney transplant.

We are grateful that our home is paid for and that we are still able to do most of the necessary things around the house.

Fatigue is one of the major symptoms of kidney failure, and hauling the water is beginning to be quite difficult for me in the time spent, the personal energy that it takes and the money for fuel and water.

If I have to go on dialysis, water will also be an issue. I have already arranged to have dialysis done at home because of the distance I would have to travel to have it done at a Dialysis Center.

The requirement here is that I have very clean conditions. Easy availability of water will be extremely necessary.

My wife began taking online courses to become a medical transcriptionist soon after the second heart attack, so that she would be able to work from our home and be there to help out around the house and to help me.