Back in 2020, right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike “BigMMike” Bell was diagnosed with stage three kidney disease, a severe condition in which your kidneys slowly start to fail which leads to a build-up of harmful elements in your blood that would otherwise be filtered out through your kidneys.
“From that initial diagnosis, it has just progressed from there,” Bell tells Madison365. “Six months later, I was on dialysis and was later diagnosed with end-stage renal failure, so I’ve pretty much lost all my function in my kidneys. I’m on dialysis three days a week, and I’m hopefully going to receive a transplant.”
A former radio personality and music director for WJQM-FM (93.1 Jamz), Bell has received a lot of support from the greater Madison community since his diagnosis which he hopes will continue at “A Gift of Life, A Green Carpet Affair, a Kidney Disease Awareness Fundraiser” on Sunday, March 2, 4-9 p.m. at the Black Business Hub.
“We’re coming together to support Mike and raise awareness of health disparities in our community,” said Joe Durruthy, president and CEO of N Motion Medical Transportation Inc., announcing the Green Carpet Affair fundraiser.
“We’re going to be offering blood pressure screenings and some kidney screenings. This will be an event to spread awareness about kidney disease and the effects on the Black and brown community,” Bell says. “There’ll be a full-course meal. We will have dancing and a live DJ, a silent auction, raffle giveaways, and some patient stories.
Guests will enjoy a four-course gourmet meal prepared by Chef Mac and a green carpet experience while hearing compelling stories from dialysis patients and transplant recipients.
“Transplant recipients will be speaking and a nephrologist will also talking about the importance of early detection,” Bell says. “And then also the keynote that night will be Melissa Roberts, the executive director of the UW Health Transplant Center.”
This special evening will raise critical funds for Bell as he seeks a kidney transplant but will also raise money to support MTZ Charitable Organization Inc.’s Older Adult Program, which provides essential programs and resources for Black older adults in Madison.
Another goal of the event is to also spread awareness on the importance of kidney health.
“I just want to stress to people reading this article that it is important to start by getting a check-up. You should make an appointment with your doctor and get an annual physical,” Bell says. “But when you get to the physical, you have to ask questions, because it may not even be discussed. You want to ask about your kidneys, specifically, when you go to the doctor and ask them for a full panel when you get the blood work done.”
Bell has faced significant financial and health challenges after losing his job and health insurance due to Cumulus Media budget cuts. In addition to the medical challenges, he needs to travel regularly to a transplant center in Atlanta, which adds another significant financial burden. Bell is appreciative of the support he has gotten from his GoFundMe so far. Every tax-deductible donation will go directly toward his treatment and support.
“The awareness is really what I want to focus on … just getting the word out that kidney disease is real. It affects us more than any other community. One in four Black people will have kidney disease in their lifetime, and it’s just like the Black and brown community is affected the most, but we don’t even discuss it,” Bell says.
The Black Business Hub is located at 2352 S. Park St. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
‘I really hope people will come out to A Gift of Life. It will be fun and for a great cause,” Bell says. “In the meantime, I’m just fighting to get the awareness out and spread the word, because people don’t really discuss kidney disease until it affects them or somebody that they know. I want to let people know about my journey.
“My sole purpose with this event is to help somebody else. And I say that all the time: everything I go through is for somebody else,” he adds.
