Woman holds fundraiser to help cousin in need of a kidney

BURGAW, NC (WECT) - Cindy Ramsey used her writing skills to help her cousin in need of a living kidney donor since she isn’t able to donate her own kidney. Ramsey wrote the book Maddie in the Middle in honor of her cousin Beth Mills.

The book is about a little girl who adopts a veteran through a school project and writes him letters. She soon finds out that the veteran is in need of a living kidney donor. One of Maddie’s loved ones then offers to give the veteran their kidney.

Ramsey started writing this book years ago but never finished it until her granddaughters were wanting a book they could read that would be appropriate for them. At that same time, Mills was in search of a living kidney donor. That’s when Ramsey had the idea to help her in a way she knew how and proceeded to dedicate this book to her.

“I was trying to think of ways that I could help when this book I’d written years ago got pulled back out just because my granddaughters wanted a book that they could read and my other books don’t fit that bill." said Ramsey. "So I pulled this one back out and started writing it because it has the living kidney donor component in it and I just automatically thought this could help Beth.”

A fundraiser was held at St. Helena community building in Burgaw at 2 p.m. this Saturday. Ramsey signed copies of the book and sold them with 50 percent of the royalties going towards Help Hope Live, a fund that goes towards Mills' unpaid medical bills.

If you’re interested in finding out if your kidney could be a match for Beth Mills or just want to buy a copy of the book, email cindyhramsey@gmail.com