Family's Desperate Plea to Save Young Dad of 8

For the past two decades, Shaun Alt has taken care of his family, including 8 children from 5- to 20-years old. But when the Keansburg, New Jersey 37-year-old was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney failure in 2013, his kids turned the tables.

The children, led by 15-year-old Kaitlyn Alt, have made it their mission to save his life. In October they launched a social media campaign to get their dad a living kidney donor who shares his blood type, which is B Positive.

STORY: Happy Ending for Ailing Twin Whose Sister Got Dad’s Liver

“At first my dad didn’t want me to do this so we went behind his back because we knew how serious this was,” Kaitlyn tells Yahoo Parenting about launching a Facebook page called Shaun’s Journey for a Kidney, which their local radio station, 94.3 The Point covered on Monday, while her sister Lindsey, 14, created a YouTube video.

STORY: Mom Asks Facebook for Kidney Donation

“He felt guilty for my siblings and I,” says Kaitlyn. “He feels that we are so young to even know what dialysis is and that his sickness shouldn’t be our sickness. He used to tell us that we should be worried about kid things and not his health, but I know now that he is very thankful for what we’re doing.”

Since the father’s kidneys failed a year and a half ago, he’s needed a lot of help. He’s endured five surgeries to repair the arteries in his arm, where he receives dialysis three days a week, and he lost his job as a water plant operator and with it health insurance, making him ineligible for a kidney transplant. Just two weeks ago, he was able to secure insurance and be reinstated on the active transplant list — but that still means a possible eight years of waiting for a donor.

“All my dad wants is to be is a dad and a husband and it’s really hard for him to do that being sick,” says Kaitlyn. “He can’t work and my family is struggling financially in a bad way.” The teen reveals that the family is behind on bills. “I know I am not supposed to know that, but I am not dumb and I do hear my parents talk,” she says. “Sometimes out utilities get shut off and we eat a lot of cereal and that is OK. We understand, well the older ones do. It’s much harder for Lacey, who is 11, and Megan, who is 8, and Aiden, who turns 6 on Saturday.”

Time doesn’t stop when things go wrong, of course. And as the father tries to focus on getting better, he’s relegated to the sidelines for milestones in his busy brood’s lives. “My older sister just graduated college last week,” says Kaitlyn. “My brother is graduating high school in a few weeks. My sister Lindsey and brother Paul are graduating 8th grade and my little brother even has his kindergarten graduation in a couple of weeks.”

Kaitlyn says her mom, Tami Alt, is doing her best to keep things going at home in the meantime. “She has always taught us that we are family and we have to stick together and that is what we are doing,” she says. “But honestly I feel like my family is falling apart. What keeps all of us going is our goal: To get my dad a kidney.”

Imagining the future with him better helps too, she says. “My dad has 5 girls and we want him to walk us all down the aisle when we get married. We want him here for every important thing in our lives. But the only way he’s going to get better is if we get the message out there that he needs help.”

Each time the family, who call their dad a “hero,” hears from people responding to their Facebook outreach, it buoys their spirits. “The response has been amazing,” says Kaitlyn. “The best thing about talking to people are their words of encouragement. It has given us hope that there really are people in the world that care enough to help us.”

And until they hear from someone who could be a donor, the cheerleading is a gift enough. “For my dad to know that there is a light at he end of the tunnel,” says Kaitlyn, “gives him a great feeling.”

To donate to the family, please visit their You Caring page. To learn more about the Alt kidney donor search, visit Shaun’s Journey for a Kidney.

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