Through the PKD Foundation’s vehicle donation program, the Beger family was able to solve two problems at once: they got rid of the car they didn’t need, and were able to provide funds for the Foundation.
Vehicle donation was the best choice for the Beger family
It was decision time. Either sink more money into the car or let it go.
Kim Beger decided to let it go.
“We live in Nebraska and our son, Xavier, was going to be moving back from California,” Kim said. “The car he was driving needed a lot of repairs to be road worthy and it just wasn’t worth it.
“I thought, ‘No way—we’ll donate it to the PKD Foundation.'”
Kim’s husband Nathan has PKD. He’s the youngest of six siblings and four of them are living with PKD. Nathan’s mother also had the disease.
“His mother had a transplant in the early 80s, but she was allergic to the anti-rejection drugs and ended up going on dialysis for the next 19 years,” explained Kim.
“She never really talked about it, so we didn’t have a lot to go on when Nathan was diagnosed in 1996.”
Beger says all four siblings have received transplants. Nathan received a cadaver kidney in 2006 and Kim donated a kidney to one of his brothers in 2007.
It was during conversations with Nathan’s nephrologist about his transplant that the Beger family learned about the PKD Foundation.
“I Googled ‘PKD Foundation’ on a Friday and attended a meeting that Sunday,” shared Kim. “It was a very positive experience and there was a diverse group of people there—those in their 50s and 60s who had been living with the disease symptom free and people at every stage of the transplant process.”
Since then, Kim has helped revitalize the Nebraska Chapter and she and Nathan have stepped into Co-coordinator roles. She said it “feels really good” to know she’s helping support the Foundation with her family’s vehicle donation.
“The company who handled it is very easy to work with and very nice,” she continued. “It couldn’t have been easier.
“I would encourage people to definitely do it if they have an old vehicle without much of a resale value. We solved two problems at once: we got rid of a car we didn’t need, and we’re providing funds for the PKD Foundation.”
