In truth, there’s nothing we can do about this horrific heat, the debt crisis and our Congressional leaders taking a vacation and leaving the FAA employees hanging without a permanent solution for their agency.
Yet here’s something you can do: Help Jennifer Wilkes — that is if you can stand gracing Coolray Stadium, home field for the Gwinnett Braves. (More on the stadium later.)
Wilkes’ story appeared in this space two years ago. She’s a Lilburn 20-something who’d been diagnosed with Goodpasture’s syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks one’s kidneys and lungs. It destroyed her kidneys.
She undergoes dialysis Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and has no substantial insurance to pay for that, or hardly any, of her mounting medical bills, which was the focus of that first column on the Parkview High grad.
“I still only have Medicaid, which — with all that has gone on — the coverage has only gotten worse,” Wilkes said. “My prescription costs went up and everything, so we are kind of nervous about that.”
Wilkes needs a kidney. While we seemingly hear often about folks who get organ transplants, it’s a blessing that’s not as routine, nor so simple. She’s not on the transplant list yet, but trying.
“We’re working through Piedmont Hospital and, within the next six months, we hope to get listed,” Wilkes told me. “As long as my Goodpastures’ antibodies stay negative, I will be able to get myself on the list.”
On Aug. 27, a fundraiser for Wilkes will take place at Coolray Field when, at 7:05 p.m., the Gwinnett Braves battle the Norfolk Tides.
Some proceeds from the sale of field-box seats, $12 tickets, will benefit Wilkes via the Believe Foundation, a private nonprofit.
“I feel really blessed and really honored,” she told me. “I am really excited, and it will be a nice change of pace from dialysis. It’s the most exciting thing I have done in two years, and if all goes well, I will get to throw out the first pitch. That will be nice, and embarrassing.”
Now back to the Coolray Field, the Gwinnett Braves and how the county became a major league player in minor league sports.
Gwinnett County Commissioners and other county leaders negotiated the stadium deal in the dark, free of public input.
The Gwinnett Braves stadium was slated to cost $45 million, but soared to $64 million in the midst of county budget cuts, layoffs and tax increases.
The issue roiled many taxpayers; I still get the occasional email decrying how county leaders struck that deal.
Perhaps you’re among the set who remains infuriated on how minor league baseball came to be in Gwinnett.
Maybe you vowed to boycott Coolray Field, and anything that smells of the Gwinnett Braves. It’s understandable.
But on Aug. 27, don’t. If you could, for that one night, put aside your principled stand and make an exception for a Saturday game billed as “Jennifer’s Night.”
Wilkes, who turns 28 soon, and her family and friends would be appreciative.
Rick Badie, an Opinion columnist, is based in Gwinnett. Reach him at rbadie@ajc.com or 770-263-3875.
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