The Giunta family needs our help

Hi everyone. My good friend Brigitte Giunta, whom I have known for several years now through Google+ and other social media, has a fundraiser that I believe deserves our attention. Please keep reading to see how we can help the Giunta family, who lives in Ontario, Canada. Their world slowly began to fall apart when Brigitte’s husband Paul Giunta and his brother Peter were both diagnosed with kidney disease.

Twin brothers with kidney disease

As you likely know, treatments for medical conditions can quickly drain bank accounts. And all too quickly sometimes. When Brigitte’s husband Paul was diagnosed with kidney disease, this is exactly what happened. It was in May of 2012.

Paul’s twin brother Peter was given the same health diagnosis only two months earlier. They both have now undergone kidney transplants, and they are on dialysis. Peter received his kidney on April 5th of 2017, and Paul got his just three days after that.

Peter’s kidney began working well almost right away, which is great news. As for Paul Giunta, his organ has had issues with becoming fully active.

About treatment and the Giunta family

Paul is on a balanced diet as per the Canada Food Guide, with Brigitte overseeing his meals and ensuring he takes all necessary prescriptions. Brigitte is a full-time caregiver for Paul. Both Peter and Paul were on 30 pills a day each; now that is down to 13 pills each daily. Paul was going to dialysis three times a week for four hours each time.

They go to the hospital every six months for testing and blood work is done locally once a month. Paul grew ill for about five weeks last August, and that was when his medication schedule changed to see if it would help his health improve.

He is also on Imodium. While this has helped a bit, he still has issues.

Since then, doctors have lowered one of his medications as it was making him ill. He is also taking medication for gout in both of his feet. Thankfully the anemia is gone.

In addition to the kidney disease diagnosis

Unfortunately, Paul Giunta has been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. He had an MRI in December of 2014, which is when it was first found. Since then, he has had MRIs in 2016 and 2017; both of them show the brain aneurysm is growing, which of course worries the Giunta family.

Paul is also being treated for clinical depression, which causes other issues, including problems sleeping. He is in counseling and on medications for these conditions. In May of 2018, he and his wife Brigitte Giunta received even more devastating news. His brain aneurysm was now 2.8 mm, up from 2.5.

There was a small second spot too, which is too small to say what exactly it is, and the MRI showed that his brain was not receiving enough oxygen while he was asleep. He was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea.

And on top of all of this, they received the medical diagnosis that Paul has dementia. And osteoporosis.

Reaching out for donations for the Giunta family

Paul is now 61 years old. Brigitte and Paul Giunta have four kids and two grandchildren. They worry that their kids may get kidney disease too. PKD is genetic and took Paul’s mother’s life at only age 61. Yes, there’s that 61 again. Their kids will undergo yearly tests to try to catch PKD early if they do have it.

In May of 2012, as Brigitte explains, “our world fell apart.” Paul had to retire from his career as a trucker owner and operator to go on disability.

They sold his truck at a loss. Disability pays only about 1/4 of what he made as a trucker. Put onto credit were the Giunta family bills from the business, along with gas and repair expenses for the truck. Since then, they have been sued by creditors for the outstanding balance and years of interest.

Now they are at risk of losing their home, due to these financial issues. The goal is the fundraiser funds will help the family to settle the debts with the creditors. The original fundraiser was on GoFundMe, and now they have a $10,000 amount to raise on their Facebook page.

Once they reach their goal, Brigitte says they will take down the emergency fundraiser. Their daughter Emilee is the trustee to make sure payments are made on time and covered each month.

Please consider giving to The Giunta Family Emergency Fund. You can make a difference in the life of this family.