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Jeff Bruning needs kidney to overcome health obstacles

Posted 7/15/14

Fountain Hills resident Jeff Bruning needs a new kidney.

In early 2013, Bruning paid a visit to the doctor after suffering from dehydration. Further tests, however, led to a diagnosis of kidney …

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Jeff Bruning needs kidney to overcome health obstacles

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Fountain Hills resident Jeff Bruning needs a new kidney.

In early 2013, Bruning paid a visit to the doctor after suffering from dehydration. Further tests, however, led to a diagnosis of kidney failure.

It’s been a bad year for Bruning. After losing his mother to cancer and battling through familial troubles in the aftermath, he was finally able to take the time to focus on his personal health.

Things had only gotten worse, however, with Bruning’s health quickly declining. He eventually had to go on dialysis in order to flush his system of deadly toxins, a task typically allocated to the kidneys that Bruning must now rely on machines to take care of in four-hour sessions three times a week.

The dialysis eventually led to bouts of atrial fibrillation, resulting in trips to the hospital until his heart rate was back under control.

A long-time employee of Paul’s Ace Hardware, Bruning is now only able to work about 15 hours a week, resulting in the loss of his healthcare coverage.

Bruning has since been able to enroll in a private insurance plan and qualified for Medicare but, even then, he said the out-of-pocket costs have been astronomical.

It was eventually determined that one of his kidneys was too far gone and needed to be removed, and was subsequently tested for cancer.

With those results coming back clean, Bruning is now able to receive a kidney donation, but the wait list is typically 3-5 years.

He’s hoping that someone out there will be able to assist him in his time of need.

“What I have is called polycystic kidney disease,” Bruning explained.

“Cysts grow around and can eventually engulf the kidney. It’s hereditary, unfortunately. It just happened. It’s weird.”

Bruning said that he knows family members have had issues with their kidneys in the past, but nothing to the point where he currently finds himself.

As for his treatment, Bruning didn’t pull any punches, stating that it is “absolutely horrible.”

For his frequent dialysis sessions, his blood is run through an hours-long cleansing process, pumping the toxins out of his blood as its funneled out of his body and back in again.

This also means that Bruning’s diet is extremely limited and he’s unable to drink anything most of the time, as the liquids would be dispersed into his body and cause swelling. This all has a hefty draining effect on Bruning, too, leaving him exhausted most of the time when he’s not in treatment.

“What’s happened for me, as a result of this treatment, is that my blood pressure has shot way up,” Bruning continued.

“The highest mine has been so far is 209 over 116, so, that’s not good.”

This, in turn, led to the AFib bouts which, in turn, resulted in days-long hospital visits.

Switching to the DaVita dialysis center, though, has yielded better results, and Bruning said his heart rate issues have not been as severe.

But, as is often the case in these matters, the medical issues have led to financial and personal problems, too.

Bruning said his boss and co-workers at Ace Hardware have been unbelievably helpful in accommodating his needs and allowing him to work when he’s able, but that all of his testing and treatments have resulted in ends that are miles away from meeting.

“My daughter had a baby in September and I still haven’t been able to see him,” he continued.

“I’m dying to see him, but she lives in Texas and we just can’t make it happen like this.”

Bruning said he’s been slowly selling off everything to help cover his bills and, in the end, he’s left with about $500 to live on a month, and that’s with many of his bills remaining unpaid at the present time.

He said his friend, Ted Evers, has been instrumental in getting him this far, helping out whenever possible and helping set up the website at akidneyforjeff.info.

“What I need, really, is a kidney,” Bruning said, explaining that all of his current treatments are basically a Band-Aid for the underlying problem.

“I’ve had a few people offer but, for whatever reason, they were ineligible. I’ve also had a few people offer and then bail, which I completely understand. It’s a hard thing to give up a body part.

“But, basically, that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m just waiting on somebody who can help; whatever form that help may be. I’m terrible at asking people for help normally, and I need a kidney. How do you ask for something like that?”