Chris Mooney, 26, has went through more than most will ever have to face in a life time. When he was 2 1/2 years old his mother, Janet Thompson, provided a kidney for his first transplant, as any loving mother would, so he could make it passed being a toddler. That kidney held strong until he was bit by a tick and it almost caused him to die due to a disease it was carrying, called Ehrlichiosis. He lost the transplant kidney his mother gave him and had severe seizures. He suffered temporary blindness and memory loss. Chris still has no memory of certain times in his life prior to the seizures. Chris went on hemo dialysis as soon as he was stable, and was treated for 3 years until he received his second kidney transplant. His father, Mike Mooney, then donated one of his kidneys when Chris was 17. He has very little use of this kidney now due to his spleen rupturing last year and infection had set in. It has just taken it's toll on him these past 7 months, he is extremely ill and in stage 4 renal failure. Brandon Winfrey, his older brother, is going in to be tested to see if he is a match for a kidney donation. If not, Chris will have to go on the donor list, which means he may not make it that long. His Doctor said he is not a good candidate for dialysis this time around. So we hope and pray that Brandon will match. Brandon is also taken time off from work to do this without pay. He loves his brother, and like the rest of us, would do any thing to save him. Janet now has two sons to worry about in the next few months. It has cost around $13,000 US dollars so far for Ty (Chris's youngest brother), Janet, and her two pups to fly back to the US from New Zealand to be with Chris in his time of need. She moved to NZ several years ago to be with her loving husband, Greg Thompson. She has had to find a place to live in Springfield, MO that would take her two dogs, and that was furnished, as she left her home and everything in it. It is much harder then one would think. This will cost them $1,125 a month until they can find a place that is a bit cheaper when they can afford to furnish a place their self. At this point Greg and Janet have exhausted their funds. Still having to make a mortgage payment in NZ and plus a place to rent now in the US where she can take care of Chris. It will cost them around $30,000 for the time she spends over here looking after Chris. She cant even afford a car now, cause there is just no money left! Chris has a car, but it constantly keeps breaking down and it will never make the long haul to Saint Louis and back for his medical appointments, which will be months of driving. Janet says, "I know we will make it work some how, heck we did it when he was a baby, we may not have had much, but we still had Chris with us to share life with." It would mean the world for us all to pitch in and help! Every little bit helps and adds up, and it's more then what they had before! If you can't afford to help financially, prayers are always needed and appreciated! If you have any questions, you can email me at tcbeggs@yahoo.com and I will answer them as soon as possible!

Update: Chris is doing dialysis 3 times a week now and has to go to SLU in St. Louis on the 8th of August for more testing with his heart, bones, and other issues. He is starting to gain some weight now due to being on a costly high protein diet. Everything is moving a long - slowly but surely! Keep the prayers going! Everything everyone has done, is doing, and will do is greatly appreciated! Thank you!