Lake Orion resident Cheryl Zigler is hoping she will get the green light soon to go ahead with an operation to donate her kidney to her ailing sister, Gloria McKay of Arizona.
McKay has been battling the end state of renal failure for seven years and is currently on dialysis three days a week, waiting for a transplant, which is her only chance of survival.
Zigler has already lost one sister, her twin, Shirley, and she hopes to be able to save Gloria with an operation in California in March.
‘March 27 is when my twin died,? she said. ‘My other sister Diana is making a blanket for Gloria that I to have in the hospital.?
Zigler grew up in Arizona, where her parents, Gloria and Thomas McKay, still live, along with Diana. She has a brother, Pep, in Chicago.
She said everyone in the family is trying to help, including her husband George, and her children: Patrick, Josie, Jeremy, Johnny, and Jeanne.
‘One of my daughters is only 17 years old, and she’s trying to organize a fundraiser,? said Zigler, who has worked at CJ’s Village Cafe in Lake Orion for six years.
‘My boss has been great,? she said. ‘He’s put a donation jar here at the restaurant.?
Donations are needed because Zigler said her sister’s medical insurance is set to run out in April, and Gloria, who currently works full-time as an adult handicap caregiver, will be unable to work for a while after the operation.
Gloria will have to take medication for the rest of her life, not covered by insurance, as well as payments for out-of-state hospital visits and clinics.
‘If I don’t end up passing the tests, we will have to find her another donor,? Zigler said. ‘I’m trying to get it where everyone can see my story and pitch in.
‘My family is supporting me,? she said. ‘They know I have to do what I have to do to save my sister’s life.?
A campaign for Gloria has been established through the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF), a non-profit organization.
Anyone who would like to make a tax-deductible donation can make checks payable to NTAF Southwest Kidney Transplant Fund, in honor of Gloria McKay, and send it to: National Transplant Assistance Fund, Suite 230, 3475 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square, PA, 19073.
To donate by credit card, call 1-800-642-8399, or visit www.transplantfund.org.