‘Success Kid’s’ Dad Is In Need Of A Kidney Transplant
If you are familiar with social media at all, you have more than likely come across a photo of the “Success Kid,” an adorable picture of a baby making a fist and the ultimate victory face.
The picture first started making its way around the Internet in 2007 when the baby’s mom shared a picture of him at 11-months-old.
Sammy Griner, the baby in the picture is now eight-years-old and his dad is in need of a kidney transplant.
According to The Daily Dot, Justin Griner was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2006. In 2009, he experienced complete kidney failure and has been on dialysis ever since.
“@laneymg: If every1 who ever created a #SuccessKid meme gave $1, we cld save his Dad’s life http://t.co/CnDhse5C9I” pic.twitter.com/Qe9PAOApZA
— ??BossHoggUSMC?? (@BossHoggUSMC) April 13, 2015
Desperate for help, Laney Griner, Justin’s wife, has turned to the Internet. She created a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising $75,000 for Justin’s kidney transplant. So far, the fundraising site has raised close to $10,000.
“Justin is a 39 year old father of one in need of a kidney transplant. Please help us reach our goal so that Justin may get the pre-treatments and transplant he desperately needs. His mother died from this disease, please help us write a different story for Justin and his son, Sam.
“Thank you for your consideration and for any help you can provide to help our family reach this goal.
“If you’d like to be tested for a donor match, please contact 904.956.3249 and speak with Lisa Veal, donor coordinator.”
Justin’s mother passed away from the same disease, which makes this situation even more urgent.
“One can only survive with no natural kidney function and using article kidney filtering for so long,” Laney Griner said. “His energy and mood are affected, he can no longer work, and he spends 12 hours a week in dialysis clinic. Having been on dialysis for this long greatly increases his risks of developing further complications. The only way to save his life is to get a transplant. There’s no other way around that.”
Although Medicare will cover the costs associated with the dialysis and the transplant, Laney explains that it is the additional costs that they are worried about.
“There’s a lot of medicines and anti-rejection drugs one must take for life, some costing thousands of dollars a month,” she said. “Medicare pays for the first three months, and that’s it.”
Laney is hoping that she will get the same response from the Internet as she did when she posted that photo of Sammy seven years ago.
“We’re the parents of ‘Success Kid’ for goodness sake,” Laney said. “If anyone understands the power, the mass, and goodwill of the Internet, it’s those of us lucky to experience it daily.”
[Photo via Twitter/Laney Griner]
