Check the Minneapolis Star Tribune for an article that they are doing about kidney failure.
Mel is featured in the article.
Helping Melissa Freiberg Larson find a kidney donor. She has been on dialysis for over 5 years now. She received a kidney from her brother 16 years ago and is in need of another kidney transplant now. Melissa has had over 350 possible donors step forward and be tested with no match yet. I encourage you to get tested as a donor, if not for Melissa, the for someone else. Check donor on your drivers license. Please...
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Many People Want to Donate Organs, But Few Actually Do
HealthDay
By Jennifer Thomas
Thursday, April 16, 2009
HealthDay
Copyright (c) 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
By Jennifer Thomas
Thursday, April 16, 2009
THURSDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Most Americans say they want to donate their organs, but only 38 percent of licensed drivers are registered to do so, a new survey shows.
Nearly 72 percent of Americans said they wanted to donate their organs after death, even if their family disagrees, according to an online survey of 5,100 U.S. adults conducted in February by Astellas Pharma US and Donate Life America.
That's far more than those who have actually registered through the DMV or state donor registries, said Donate Life America Chair Sara Pace Jones.
"The number of people awaiting organ transplants has climbed to more than 100,000, and an average of 18 people die each day waiting for available organs," Pace Jones said. "It is more important than ever for those who support donation to legally document those wishes."
The survey also found misperceptions and confusion about organ donation and registration.
Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of people who say they are undecided, reluctant or do not wish to donate were not sure they would be an acceptable donor. Often, age or health conditions do not prevent people from being potential donors. Donation screening only occurs before organs and tissue are recovered for transplant.
Only half (50 percent) of respondents believed that doctors will try as hard to save their life if they know of their wish to be an organ donor.
Just under half (44 percent) mistakenly thought that in the United States there is a black market in which people can buy or sell organs or tissue.
Only 43 percent of respondents understood that it is impossible for a brain-dead person to recover from his or her injuries.
"There is a real crisis taking place with regards to organ availability in this country, and dispelling commonly held misperceptions and increasing the public's trust of the donation and transplant system is paramount when it comes to solving it," said Pace Jones.
HealthDay
Copyright (c) 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Kidney Donors Survive and Thrive
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found living kidney donors live as long or longer and enjoy better quality of life than the general population
During the study, only 11 out of almost 3,700 participants developed severe kidney problems. Researchers also found donors had a better quality of life then the general population 60 percent of the time.
Living kidney donors are carefully screened before being allowed to donate so they must be generally healthy. Donors cannot have any trace of diabetes, high blood pressure or any other chronic diseases or health issues.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Check out these websites.
National Kidney Foundation Minnesota page
American Association of Kidney Patients
Donnie Smith Bike Show Website this is where the photo was taken with Brian Zepp of 92 KQRS.
American Association of Kidney Patients
Donnie Smith Bike Show Website this is where the photo was taken with Brian Zepp of 92 KQRS.
Zylstra Harley Davidson of Elk River is the host for Mels fundraiser June 6, 2009.
Our buddy Mike Evans. Aloha Friday!
Here is a website with FAQ about donating a kidney. Living Donors Online
The website for our friends the Minnesota Red Knights Chapter 4, they are a motorcycle club of Firefighters.
Here is a website with FAQ about donating a kidney. Living Donors Online
The website for our friends the Minnesota Red Knights Chapter 4, they are a motorcycle club of Firefighters.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Good morning ,
We are coordinating a motorcycle ride for my girlfriend Melissa Freiberg Larson.
She is a 40 year old mother of two beautiful children Maya 10 yrs old. & Hayes 13 yrs old.
We met at the Rider's Edge course last May through Zylstra's; I was so moved by her story of wanting to get her liscense because she didn't know if she'd ever get the chance in her life.
She is in need of a Kidney Transplant and we are having a benefit for her sponsored by Zylstra's Harley Davidson & Buell of Elk River.
This is a motorcycle benefit that will happen every year sponsored through Zylstra's.
We are looking for sponsor's and we are in desperate need of any type of silent auction items and or donations.
Of course our biggest goal is locating a kidney donor match with the Type
We are coordinating a motorcycle ride for my girlfriend Melissa Freiberg Larson.
She is a 40 year old mother of two beautiful children Maya 10 yrs old. & Hayes 13 yrs old.
We met at the Rider's Edge course last May through Zylstra's; I was so moved by her story of wanting to get her liscense because she didn't know if she'd ever get the chance in her life.
She is in need of a Kidney Transplant and we are having a benefit for her sponsored by Zylstra's Harley Davidson & Buell of Elk River.
This is a motorcycle benefit that will happen every year sponsored through Zylstra's.
We are looking for sponsor's and we are in desperate need of any type of silent auction items and or donations.
Of course our biggest goal is locating a kidney donor match with the Type
O negative blood type.
Due to weekly dialysis treatments that she has to endure to sustain her life; whatever insurance doesn't cover she gets billed.
All donations will be going to Melissa to help with her mounting medical bills.
Could you please consider either being a sponsor or donator for her event.
We would list you as a sponsor in return.
I have included the flyer that Zylstra's was kind enough to put together for us.
If you need to verify this motorcyle ride please contact, Danette Chovan, Event Coordinator with Zylstra's Harley Davidson & Buell in Elk River at
Due to weekly dialysis treatments that she has to endure to sustain her life; whatever insurance doesn't cover she gets billed.
All donations will be going to Melissa to help with her mounting medical bills.
Could you please consider either being a sponsor or donator for her event.
We would list you as a sponsor in return.
I have included the flyer that Zylstra's was kind enough to put together for us.
If you need to verify this motorcyle ride please contact, Danette Chovan, Event Coordinator with Zylstra's Harley Davidson & Buell in Elk River at
763-241-2000.
I am also including Melissa's blog which will give you more background on her;
That link is www.kidney4mel.com
Here is another link where we have her event listed on;
Biker Plaza
Please contact me at
I am also including Melissa's blog which will give you more background on her;
That link is www.kidney4mel.com
Here is another link where we have her event listed on;
Biker Plaza
Please contact me at
612-718-2404 we would GREATLY appreciate your support!
Thank you so very much for taking the time out of your day to read our email!
Sincerely,
Paula J. Chermack
809 Smetana Road
APT #6
Hopkins, MN 55343
Thank you so very much for taking the time out of your day to read our email!
Sincerely,
Paula J. Chermack
809 Smetana Road
APT #6
Hopkins, MN 55343
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sartell woman's daughter waits for kidney
reprinted from Sartell News Leader
by Dennis Dalman
Thursday, November 20, 2008 11:13 AM EST
Despite her own medical problems she has suffered, Laine Freiberg of Sartell doesn't think much
about herself; she thinks about her daughter who is desperately in need of a kidney transplant.
Before Freiberg goes to sleep and after she wakes up, she agonizes about her daughter's plight.
“I've had cancer, I've had a brain tumor,” Freiberg said. “But that's nothing compared to my
daughter. I would gladly take on her condition if I could.”
Laine works in the business office of St. Cloud Orthopedic. Her daughter, Melissa Freiberg Larson, who is 39, is a single mother who lives with her two children in Monticello. Twelve years ago, while pregnant with her son, Hayes, doctors noticed the protein in her urine was abnormally high. After further checking, they discovered her kidneys were disintegrating.
After giving birth, she needed a kidney transplant. Fortunately, her younger brother, Matt, was a “match,” and he gladly donated a kidney for his sister. For years, everything seemed to be fine, but last July doctors noticed Melissa's one good kidney was taking a turn for the worse. As a result, she had to start undergoing dialysis treatments three times a week at Centra Care in Big Lake. Dialysis is a four hour process in which a machine filters the blood that failing kidney(s) can no longer handle.
Melissa's kidney problem was always something of a mystery, although doctors think they were weakened because of some childhood illness. “I had pneumonia when I was a child, ” she said, “but no one can know for sure. Quite a few people have bad kidneys, and they don't even know it. That was the case with me.”
In 2006, Melissa moved in with her mother in Sartell because the strain of her illness and trying to raise her two children (Hayes and 9 year old Maya) had become so difficult. Her children attended Oak Ridge Elementary School during that year. After dialysis treatments, Melissa is exhausted, and she lies in a recliner or bed at home, unable to summon up the energy to do much of anything. She worked part-time at the American Legion in Monticello, but that too can be a struggle because of her lowered energy level. Because of her illness, she is on a severely restricted diet. Most fruits and vegetables are out, as are dairy products. Instead of drinking water, she must suck on ice to limit her intake of fluids. It is, she said, a dreary diet.
What disturbs her most, however, is that she doesn't have the energy to do more activities with her two children. She is a Brownie leader, and she loves to attend her son's football games, but it is always difficult to summon the energy to have more fun times with the kids. Most of all, she wishes someone somewhere could become a donor for a new kidney.
The process is very simple.
What's needed is someone with Type O blood (either positive or negative).
The test is simple.
People simply call the University of Minnesota Hospital
(toll-free 1-800-328-5465 ext. 522) and express interest.
They can then have their blood tested at their local clinics, and the blood test results are sent to the U of M Transplant Center. If there is a match, a kidney x-ray is later done, and the prospective donor can then decide whether to donate or not.
There is no age limit. Finding the right donor is difficult because a donor's blood antigens must be compatible with those of Melissa.
The donor's blood antigens must be compatible with those of Melissa. The entire process is strictly confidential, and it's free.
Melissa and her mother personally know some people who did the blood test but whose antigens did not match. Two of them decided to donate a kidney to other people. Throughout her long ordeal, Melissa has tried to keep her problems in
perspective. One day, she drove to Crossroads shopping center in St. Cloud. She felt weak, but it was a nice day and so she decided to walk quite a ways into the mall. She started a conversation with a woman she happened to see and told her, “Gee, I'm glad I decided to walk instead of using my handicapped car sticker. It's so nice out today!”The woman asked, “Handicapped sticker? Why?” Melissa explained her condition. The woman, in an outpouring of sympathy, told Melissa she knows what that's like after having 19 surgeries because of brain tumors. “That woman made me realize there is always somebody worse off than me,” Melissa said.
When she is undergoing dialysis treatments, there are usually about 20 people getting dialysis in the same large room. “One guy just retired,” she said. “I feel so bad for him because that's no way to enjoy retirement.” Melissa said even if she doesn't get a kidney transplant, she wants to make “everyone in the world” aware of the importance of organ transplants, including people putting “organ donor” on their drivers' licenses.
“It reallly is the gift of life,” she said.
by Dennis Dalman
Thursday, November 20, 2008 11:13 AM EST
Despite her own medical problems she has suffered, Laine Freiberg of Sartell doesn't think much
about herself; she thinks about her daughter who is desperately in need of a kidney transplant.
Before Freiberg goes to sleep and after she wakes up, she agonizes about her daughter's plight.
“I've had cancer, I've had a brain tumor,” Freiberg said. “But that's nothing compared to my
daughter. I would gladly take on her condition if I could.”
Laine works in the business office of St. Cloud Orthopedic. Her daughter, Melissa Freiberg Larson, who is 39, is a single mother who lives with her two children in Monticello. Twelve years ago, while pregnant with her son, Hayes, doctors noticed the protein in her urine was abnormally high. After further checking, they discovered her kidneys were disintegrating.
After giving birth, she needed a kidney transplant. Fortunately, her younger brother, Matt, was a “match,” and he gladly donated a kidney for his sister. For years, everything seemed to be fine, but last July doctors noticed Melissa's one good kidney was taking a turn for the worse. As a result, she had to start undergoing dialysis treatments three times a week at Centra Care in Big Lake. Dialysis is a four hour process in which a machine filters the blood that failing kidney(s) can no longer handle.
Melissa's kidney problem was always something of a mystery, although doctors think they were weakened because of some childhood illness. “I had pneumonia when I was a child, ” she said, “but no one can know for sure. Quite a few people have bad kidneys, and they don't even know it. That was the case with me.”
In 2006, Melissa moved in with her mother in Sartell because the strain of her illness and trying to raise her two children (Hayes and 9 year old Maya) had become so difficult. Her children attended Oak Ridge Elementary School during that year. After dialysis treatments, Melissa is exhausted, and she lies in a recliner or bed at home, unable to summon up the energy to do much of anything. She worked part-time at the American Legion in Monticello, but that too can be a struggle because of her lowered energy level. Because of her illness, she is on a severely restricted diet. Most fruits and vegetables are out, as are dairy products. Instead of drinking water, she must suck on ice to limit her intake of fluids. It is, she said, a dreary diet.
What disturbs her most, however, is that she doesn't have the energy to do more activities with her two children. She is a Brownie leader, and she loves to attend her son's football games, but it is always difficult to summon the energy to have more fun times with the kids. Most of all, she wishes someone somewhere could become a donor for a new kidney.
The process is very simple.
What's needed is someone with Type O blood (either positive or negative).
The test is simple.
People simply call the University of Minnesota Hospital
(toll-free 1-800-328-5465 ext. 522) and express interest.
They can then have their blood tested at their local clinics, and the blood test results are sent to the U of M Transplant Center. If there is a match, a kidney x-ray is later done, and the prospective donor can then decide whether to donate or not.
There is no age limit. Finding the right donor is difficult because a donor's blood antigens must be compatible with those of Melissa.
The donor's blood antigens must be compatible with those of Melissa. The entire process is strictly confidential, and it's free.
Melissa and her mother personally know some people who did the blood test but whose antigens did not match. Two of them decided to donate a kidney to other people. Throughout her long ordeal, Melissa has tried to keep her problems in
perspective. One day, she drove to Crossroads shopping center in St. Cloud. She felt weak, but it was a nice day and so she decided to walk quite a ways into the mall. She started a conversation with a woman she happened to see and told her, “Gee, I'm glad I decided to walk instead of using my handicapped car sticker. It's so nice out today!”The woman asked, “Handicapped sticker? Why?” Melissa explained her condition. The woman, in an outpouring of sympathy, told Melissa she knows what that's like after having 19 surgeries because of brain tumors. “That woman made me realize there is always somebody worse off than me,” Melissa said.
When she is undergoing dialysis treatments, there are usually about 20 people getting dialysis in the same large room. “One guy just retired,” she said. “I feel so bad for him because that's no way to enjoy retirement.” Melissa said even if she doesn't get a kidney transplant, she wants to make “everyone in the world” aware of the importance of organ transplants, including people putting “organ donor” on their drivers' licenses.
“It reallly is the gift of life,” she said.
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