So, Alan sent an email to inform us that a date has been set. Praise God! The transplant is set for July 28th. Jessica and Alan have to be at UAB (University of Alabama Birmingham) on the 27th and the surgery will be done on the 28th. Jessica should only be in the hospital 3 days if all goes as planned. Alan will be in Birmingham for about 4 weeks. The only hold up could be with Alan’s insurance company , but he doesn’t really see that happening.  

Please continue to pray for both Alan and Jessica as the surgeries near. Also pray for Carole as she will be their strength for the next several weeks. Also pray for each and every doctor and nurse that will be involved in care for Alan and Jessica. We thank you Lord for all that you ‘ve done and are doing! Remember that we need to just “trust in the Lord with all of our hearts!” (Proverbs 3:5)

I am writing this to give you a few updates in the last several weeks. I also want you to know that God has moved in the midst of all of this. God has Alan and Jessica firmly in His grip. So here it is…

On Wednesday, June 25th the transplant team met and an issue arose with Jessica’s last round of testing. (Jessica is Alan’s daughter and his kidney donor.) Alan said that he was not sure he understood completely but that something for Jessica showed at a higher level than it should have. There was no risk to Jessica’s health , but the loss of an organ or other major medical change would put her at high risk. So, she had another test run on Friday, June 27th. The doctors said that if her tests come back the same then they would track her for six months and then make a decision. Otherwise, the transplant would be late July or early August.

By early July Jessica’s tests came back in the normal range. The results were sent to UAB. The thransplant committee met on Wednesday, July 9th and gave their okay for a go ahead. That information was given to the scheduling committee that would meet the following day. Alan was hoping to have a date by the end of the week. Keep praying as the Lord prepares both Alan and Jessica for their surgeries!

    Carole and I moved to Florida in 2003 after my older brother Dale passed away. My younger brother Ed has lived in Ft Walton Beach for years. I hoped that with both brothers living in Florida, we would be able to move our mother Alice down with us. We were able to do that and enjoyed having the family together until my mother passed in 2005.

    We began to attend First United Methodist Church in 2004.  After our first visit, we knew that this was going to be our church family.  To make it  a church family, you have to get involved and that is what we did. Carole and I became greeters at the 8:00 AM service. I became an usher at that service also. I began to work with the youth in the fall of 2004 and have been working with them ever since.

    While Carole was in the hospital, she was visited by three clowns from the clown ministry from the church. That sparked another interest in me and I began to work with the Clowns for Christ. I became “Pockets”.  I have enjoyed developing the character and working with the group.

    Jessica, our daughter, moved to Florida in 2005. She graduated from college in 2003 as a sonographer. She worked at a hospital in the DC area before moving to Florida. She worked at Bay Medical Center in Panama City before moving to North Okaloosa regional in Crestview. She is truly a special young woman.  Not only because she is willing to give a kidney to prolong her father’s life but because she was a gift from God when we adopted her.

May, 2008

Dear Friends:

My name is Edward Chandler.  I am a United Methodist Minister and a counselor.  I am writing this letter to share a burden some of us have about a family that many of you know.

I am writing about Alan Klink, who lives in Crestview, Florida.  Sometime in July Alan will go to Birmingham, Alabama to have a kidney transplant which he must have to survive.

Alan’s daughter, Jessica, is planning to donate one of her kidneys to help her father.  All of that is settled.  The big problem is the astronomical cost for transportation, food, hotel bills and doctor bills.  Insurance will pay about 80% and Alan will have to pay the remaining 20%.  Conservative estimates are that he will need about $60,000.00

The Internal Revenue service will not allow us to give gifts through the church and count it as a deduction for income tax.  We believe there are many of you who will feel a real burden for Alan and his family and will want to give a gift.  They need your gift by May 31, 2008. 

Please send your gifts to:

          Robert Alan Klink Kidney Transplant Fund

                             Any Vanguard Bank

                                      or

          Robert Alan Klink Kidney Transplant Fund

                             P.O. Box 845

                      Crestview, FL  32536

Checks made payable to:

VanGuard Bank -  Robert Alan Kidney Transplant Fund 

Comment Section:  Kidney Transplant Fund

Call Carole with any questions.  Carole (cell) 850-758-1003

Thank you and God bless,

Edward Chandler

850-678-4411 ext. 162

Who is Alan Klink and why are we praying for him? First Alan is a man who loves the Lord, loves teenagers, loves his church, and loves life! Alan is one of our incredible shepherds at First UMC Niceville. (Student Ministry) That is exactly what he is - a shepherd, not just a volunteer. A volunteer usually does the minimum required and then heads to the house. But our shepherds at First UMC know they have been called by the Lord to shepherd teenagers and they do it with all of their hearts. Of course they do; because they know that they are ultimately serving the Lord and they want to Glorify Him.

We are praying for Alan because in the last several months his health has begun to deteriorate. You see, Alan has a disease called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. (FSGS for short) What is FSGS? FSGS is a type of Glomerular Disease, one of many diseases that affect kidney function by attacking the glomeruli, the tiny units within the kidney where blood is cleaned. Glomerulosclerosis (gloh-MAIR-yoo-loh-skleh-ROH-sis) describes the scarring or hardening of the tiny blood vessels within the kidney. (nephcure.org)

We have a desire to support our brother in Christ first and foremost by praying for him and then secondly by supporting he and his family financially. Alan will very soon be needing a kidney transplant and we want to lift him up to the Lord as he prepares for his surgery, during surgery, and as he recovers.

We also want to be in prayer for Alan’s incredible daughter Jessica. She is the person who is giving him a kidney.  We want to also be in prayer for Alan’s wife, Carole. (More info to come soon about them) 

Please consider subscribing to this post so that you can recieve updates on the staus of Alan’s process. We will also have info up soon on how you can support them financially if the Lord compels you to do so.