Dear friends!

Everyone, who has opened this site, will remain in my heart forever. I would like to thank you in advance!

I am asking for your help. Writing my story would hopefully bring me closer to you. My name is Nikolay Kostadinov. I am 39 years old, once married, with a 14-year old son, who lives in France with his mother. I don’t see my boy often but we are close nevertheless, for which I am really happy. I live in Burgas, Bulgaria, currently with my parents, who support me since I have not been able to work in the past few years due to a debilitating medical condition that has changed my life completely.

My suffering began about 6 years ago, when it was found out that I have a kidney disease. My kidneys have been damaged by an infection I have had in my twenties. I started a treatment hoping that things will get better and the worries will be forgotten. But the problem turned out to be bigger than I thought and after a year the diagnosis was End Stage Renal Failure. To sustain life I had to go on dialysis – three times a week for 4 hours. Dialysis is not fun. Some people take it better than others. For me it was a nightmare. My body did not handle it well and my health was declining quickly. After a year on dialysis my mom donated one of her kidneys to me. According to the doctors at Alexandrovska Hospital, where the transplant took place, the surgery was successful and everything was supposed to be alright. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and I spent the following 4 years back and forth between the nephrology units in Sofia and Burgas. After numerous episodes of rejection and many infections the things kept getting worse. Now I am on dialysis again - back to square one. I know that my body can’t take it very much longer. I appreciate life more than ever. I would love to be the independent adult I used to be, to work and do the things I love, to enjoy the simplest things in life, which, if healthy, we normally take for granted. A second transplant would be very costly and I need your financial and moral support. The sum could be as high as 100 000 Euro or $ 150 000 in some clinics. You understand, that it is not easy to come up with such amount of money without asking for the help of friends and everyone, who believes that people in my situation deserve a better life too.

Every little sum donated from the heart is a gift of happiness. Every caring word brings back the hope in my life.

Thank you again for your kindness and generosity.