A young woman raised money for her ailing mother’s desperately needed kidney transplant but just before the operation, it disappeared.
Lara Carson re-read the insurance policy yet again and buried her head in her hands. $220,000 dollars was the cap off on transplants, but her mother’s procedure would cost over $400,000 according to the hospital’s estimate — and that is if everything went well.
If there were complications, each extra day in the hospital alone would cost an extra $3,000, and that was without counting on any additional treatments or procedures. It was impossible, but she had to do it. She had to — her mother’s life was at stake.
Delia Carson was rushed to the hospital after collapsing from renal failure | Source: Shuterstock.com
Lara and her brother Jackson owed their mother everything. Their father had walked out when Lara was just ten and Jackson was five. At the time, their mother had been pregnant with their third child, but that hadn’t bothered their father.
“I’m moving on, Delia,” Lara had heard her father say. “I’m in love with someone else. I have the right to be happy!”
“But…” Delia sobbed. “But the baby…Our children!”
“YOU wanted children, I never did,” cried her father. “Please, Delia, have some dignity and spare us both the embarrassment of all this begging and groveling!”
Lara’s father told her mother he never wanted children | Source: Unsplash
That had been twelve long years ago. Dan Carson had turned his back on his pregnant wife and children and didn’t even bother to divorce her. Due to the shock, Delia had lost the baby.
But once she was back on her feet, Delia’s children became the focus of her life and the family’s great support had been their neighbor, Julius. Julius become Papa Julius, their adoptive grandfather, and babysitter while Delia worked night and day to make sure that they had everything they needed.
Eventually, the work and the stress took their toll, and Delia’s health deteriorated. Two years ago, her kidneys had started to fail and she had been put on dialysis. Now, her nephrologist had explained, dialysis wasn’t enough. He was putting Delia on the transplant list.
As far as Lara could see, they were short $200,000. She contacted several charities and foundations, but even though Delia was too poor to afford the transplant out of her own pocket, she was too prosperous to qualify for help.
