Renal Disease Disabled Grandmother Seeks Grant Money To Lower Medical Debt

by Tabitha Stewart
(Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA)

My name is Tabitha Stewart. I'm an African American female from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

I'm 43 and I have eight children between the ages of 19-27. From them I have seven beautiful grandchildren.

I am the oldest out of five siblings. My mother died of cancer and my father of renal disease. I myself have lived with renal disease for the last two and a half years.

I enjoy spending time with my grandchildren, visiting family and friends, bike riding and walking around the neighborhood, having Sunday dinner with my kids, reading and watching movies.

The disability that I have is renal disease. It's a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood.

It happened back in September of 2009. It appeared from high blood pressure. I can't work because of my disability and it's stressful. It just something new that happened in my life and I'm trying to deal with that.

Living with renal disease is a struggle. I have no transportation to get to and from the dialysis. But I make it every time.

I have to take at least a half dozen of pills a day. Watching my kids it hurts them to see me such so much pain. But I understand that I have to do my best to be here.

I can't earn any income besides what I get for SSDI. I go for dialysis on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I don't have time to find work because my dialysis leaves me feeling weak.

I'm looking for grants to help pay medical bills and more. It will truly give me some relief to know I can lie down and rest and my kids will be truly blessed.