Hello, we are family members of Chad & Tiffany Lyon. For those who may not know, Chad has an extremely rare kidney disease called IgM and is scheduled to receive a kidney transplant in January 2025.

 We are starting this "GiveSendGo" campaign to help The Lyon Family with all of the expenses they will incur while Chad is receiving a kidney transplant and during the long recovery period after.

The next few months will be not only physically and emotionally difficult but will be financially straining as well. They will be required to cover all medical expenses not covered by insurance. They will also need lodging in Jacksonville for not just the transplant but also for 5-6 weeks after. Chad is required to stay near the hospital there in case of any complications and also for his many follow up appointments. The total for that alone is expected to be a minimum of $7400. They will also need to account for meals, gas, time off of work for the recovery period and his post-transplant medications which will be approximately $1200/month for the rest of his life.

With less than one month left until the transplant, they are trying to plan for these upcoming expenses. This is extremely overwhelming as they were already struggling financially due to Chad losing his job in February 2024 and them having to carry additional health insurance to ensure coverage for his transplant which was an extra $850/month.

For those not familiar with Chad’s health journey, he was diagnosed with IgM back in 2008. IgM is a very rare kidney disease which means there really isn’t much information available on it. He did well for many years however his health began to drastically decline several years ago. He then went through multiple treatments, including extremely high dosages of prednisone and even chemo drugs (which cost $4,000 out of pocket) in an attempt to find a solution that would help control the disease. Unfortunately, none of these were successful in improving his kidney function and would end up causing more harm than good in the end.

Chad has been in stage 4 kidney failure since around August of 2022. This has caused extreme fatigue and prolonged illnesses as well as other health complications which have been extremely him both physically and mentally. Due to his decline in health, Chad was laid off in February of 2024.

Receiving a kidney transplant will be life changing for Chad and his entire family. He will finally have both the time and energy to do the things he loves the most: spending time with his wife and children, enjoying time with friends and family, playing golf and fishing. He will also be able to return to work and help ease the financial strain this illness has put on their family.

Both Chad and Tiffany are so incredibly grateful to Chads sister Andre for donating her kidney to Chad! Finding a kidney is not an easy task and people can wait years before receiving one. Not only will her selfless act change Chads life for the better, but it increases the odds of Chads body accepting the kidney. Kidneys for live donors, most especially from close relatives, are not only more easily accepted by the recipient but they also last longer than kidneys received from deceased donors. Please keep her in your prayers as well and pray for a successful surgery and very speedy recovery.

Any amount that you would be able to contribute to Chad and Tiffany during this time would be a huge help. If you aren’t able to, then please share this with your friends and family as well as on social media. Every little bit helps. And please keep Chad, Andre, Tiffany and both of their families in your thoughts and prayers over these coming weeks, it would mean the world to them all.