“Call in a favor, pray, beg, borrow or steal whatever it is you do. She could use whatever it is you got. She is scared but trying to stay as strong as she can. She is a tough cookie but enough is enough”  says her husband Brandon. More information on her condition will be available later today.

Devon’s family is asking for magazines and book donations to keep her mind busy during this difficult time.

Here’s what they looked like in January.

Thank you to EVERYONE who came to The Tea Cup function and supported it. April Paleveda Curcio, Debbie Cook Eisenberg, Kelly Glenn Rowjohn and my mother put it all together and made it happen again. I heard about all of you that came and surprised me. Stop by if you get a chance. I’m home bound for a while and I Love you all!!

- Devon

If you’d like to send flowers or well wishes to Devon you can contact Tampa General Hospital at 813-844-7443.

Visiting hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The gift shop can be reached at (813) 844-7370. Purchases for delivery to patients can be made over the phone with a credit card.

Hours of operation for gift shop:
Monday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday – 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Devon’s family is also accepting gift cards to restaurants for Brandon Michael and David during Devon’s stay.

- O negative or O positive blood type

- Under the age of 50 and perfect health

- Not taking any medications

- Non smoker

- Relatively healthy weight BMI<30

- No chronic diseases like high blood pressure or diabetes

If you meet this criteria and would like to save a life, then call TGMG and ask to be tested for Devon Carver.

Please call TGMG – Transplant Services @ 800-844-9302.

Choose option [1], listen to the prompts and then choose option [1] again. Listen to the following prompts and choose option [3] for the kidney/pancreas donation program. After that redirects you choose option [2] for the living donor program.

You will then be able to speak to someone and they will ask you a series of preliminary questions, be as truthful as possible. They will be able to give you any further information that you might need and the following steps after the preliminary interview.

Thank you to everyone who is considering giving one of their kidneys to save Devon’s life. We hope to find a match before it’s too late.

High Tea Fundraiser to Benefit FishHawk Resident Needing Kidney Transplant

By D’Ann White

As a young FishHawk Ranch mother continues to fight for her life against end-stage renal failure, friends and strangers alike are rallying to raise funds to offset her mounting medical expenses.

The latest fundraiser is a high tea planned today, Jan. 25, from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Tea Cup Tea Room, 1107 Lithia-Pinecrest Rd., Brandon. The cost of $30 includes soup, sandwiches, salad and dessert.

Earlier this month, the newly opened Title Boxing Club in Bloomingdale Square hosted a fundraiser for Devon Carver, and proceeds from a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament and a Christmas carnival in December were dedicated to Carver.

In the meantime, the 34-year-old is receiving publicity from an unexpected source.

A Tampa marketing company, which has asked to remain anonymous, financed three billboards featuring Carver, reading: “Local Mother Needs Living Kidney Donor.”

The two digital and one standard billboards went up in December along Interstate 75 and I275 in Tampa.

“The owner and pretty much all of us who work at the company are FishHawk residents,” said a spokeswoman for the marketing company. “We’re happy to be able to use our skills for a good cause. Devon needs to focus on her health, not on fundraising.”

In addition to purchasing billboard space, Carver’s anonymous benefactor has set up a website, Save Devon-OperationKidney, where the public can make donations for Carver.

Despite all the gestures of support, Carver is running out of time.

She needs a live kidney donor to replace her kidneys, which have failed due to complications from the type 1 diabetes she’s had since age 2.

Currently, she spends 11 to 12 hours a day on a dialysis machine to remove waste and excess water from her blood while she awaits a donor.

Surgeons previously performed a kidney and pancreas transplant on the Bloomingdale High School graduate using the organs of a cadaver. However, the new kidney didn’t function correctly and had to be removed.

Doctors say she doesn’t have time to wait for another compatible cadaver kidney, which could take six or seven years. They believe her only hope of survival is to find a live donor with 0 negative or 0 positive blood, under age 50 and in excellent health.

“My sister wanted to do it but she’s a carrier for type 1 diabetes so she couldn’t be a donor,” said Carver.

A cousin also came forward to donate a kidney. However, she was ruled out because her antibodies and antigens killed those in Carver’s blood.

“If I don’t get a living donor, I’m going to die. I can’t wait,” said Carver.

Carver is now recovering from surgery in December, which included amputating three of her toes, which had gangrene, and removing a large cyst that had grown around the port she uses for dialysis.

“I’m having a hard time,” she said. “I’ve been very sick.”

Her husband, Brandon, said it’s been a tough two months for Carver but added that the groundswell of community support for his wife gives her hope.

“She is surely the strongest person I have ever met,” he said.

For more information about tonight’s High Tea fundraiser, call 813-654-6543.

To read original article click here.

In Print: Sunday, January 20, 2013

LITHIA

Maddie Eisenberg saw the Facebook request asking for gift baskets for a silent auction and bowl-a-thon to benefit Operation Kidney for Devon Cooley Carter, a young mom in need of a kidney donor.

Maddie, 11, wanted to help, so she and her mom, Debbie, made a gift basket with a theme of keeping kids busy on a rainy day. It included movie tickets and books.

That was just the beginning.

Maddie then enlisted the help of her neighbors in FishHawk to bake and sell cupcakes during the FishHawk Ranch yard sale. She made poster boards to draw awareness to Carter’s cause.

Eventually, she raised $625 for Operation Kidney to benefit Carter, and she continues to stay involved to help Carter draw awareness to her cause.

Her drive stems from a desire to help others and a determination to get others involved.

“If a kid can get involved, so can adults,” she says.

This reminds her of a quote she read in school recently: “A small child shall lead them.”

She had joined forces with others who share her passion to help Carter, including the Friends of FishHawk and the FishHawk Adult Softball League.

“This has been a moving experience for us as a family,” says her mom, Debbie Cook Eisenberg.

Funds raised through Operation Kidney will help pay for the cost of a kidney transplant, insurance co-pays and donor expenses. It also will help set up a college trust fund for Carter’s son, David, who is 11. This trust fund was another idea Maddie wants to see through. It is on hold while some of the finer details are being worked out.

For Carter, it has been a long, arduous process, but people like Maddie have inspired her. Her first pancreas and kidney transplant resulted in a kidney that did not take, so she is still searching for a live donor under the age of 50 with O positive or O negative blood and no history of health problems.

She is on dialysis for 12 hours every day. She also recently had to have three toes amputated due to complications with type 1 diabetes, which she has had since she was 2 years old. The diabetes is the cause of her kidney medical problems and poor eyesight. Her recent amputation has left her in a wheelchair.

Carter’s Operation Kidney serves more than one purpose. Besides raising money for her own medical needs, she hopes to get the word out about organ donations throughout the county.

She wants people to realize that when they become an organ donor, they can save up to eight people’s lives. Your license or state ID card will signify that you are a donor and that you have been added to the Florida Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

On Friday from 5 to 7 p.m., the Tea Room, 1107 Lithia Pinecrest Road, will sponsor a charity fundraiser for Operation Kidney. The cost is $30 per person.

Carter urges people to come out, raise awareness for organ donations, have a good time, and meet her other inspiration, her mom, Sheri Cooley.

Teresa Slattery Amin can be reached at hillsnews@tampabay.com.