LaurenStrong
Donation protected
Lauren is a 22 year old young lady who has fought her illness her whole life.
She has come to a pivotal point in the illness where life altering surgery is needed.
Her grandmother is a Co worker and has been by her side thru this journey. She will be going with Lauren for this opportunity and will miss work.
They will need to travel to St. Louis for testing to give Lauren a chance at a better quality of life with a transplant.
This will not be cheap. They are going to need help with travel expenses, lodging, food and other possible expenses related to this trip.
Honestly, they are very private and have NOT asked for anyone to help. I'm doing this after twisting both their arms to allow me to post this and give people the opportunity to be there for them.
I'm going to let them tell you the story in their words to help you understand this request.
Below is from each of them.
Barb:
"Lauren was born with a tethered spine. That’s where the nerve endings at the base of the spine are tangled and tethered and cannot move freely. That has caused her kidneys, bladder and bowels to be affected and suffer. She’s had 42 surgeries since birth, most of them to correct problems with her major organs and her spine. Over time, her kidneys have stopped working and she went on dialysis when she was 17. Three years ago she was placed on the transplant list. Typically it takes 3-5 years to get a kidney. Her Dr has suggested we list in another state to double her chances of getting a kidney. He suggested St Louis since he is acquainted with their program. I call Lauren a kidney warrior because she’s overcome so much but she keeps on going and she keeps a positive attitude thru it all.
The money will be used for expenses related to transplant".
Lauren:
"When I was born I was born with something called a tethered spin. That is when the movement in the spinal cord is limited within the spinal column due to abnormal tissue attachments. Usually, as a child develops, the spinal cord ends at a point in the lower back where it is not attached to any skin or other structure. This gives the cord freedom to grow along with your child but with a tethered spin it causes the cord to attach to the spinal column and then as a child grows, the spinal cord can stretch, causing damage to the cord and the nerves around it. Meaning damage to back and sometimes bladder and kidneys. All in all the tethered spin damaged my kidneys overtime to the point they just “died” and don’t work at all. I have had kidney damage all my life because of the spin problem and it just took longer to actually fail them. Your kidney damage is put into a “grade system” ranging 1-5 with 1 is is good and 5 is totally dead and failed. I staying in a stage 4 for quite awhile before finally getting to stage 5. I finally reached stage 5 in August of 2015 at age 16 and started dialysis almost right after falling into stage 5. Getting started with dialysis I started at Riley doing dialysis for 4 hrs 3 days a week. Finally in the year 2017 they determined I was eligible for transplant and listed me. I’ve been on the list ever since waiting.
Shortly after I turned 18 I had to leave Riley and I trained to do all my dialysis treatments at home. So now I have been doing home dialysis every since".
.......I know this has been a lot to read and take in but I felt the only way to do justice to Lauren's story was to allow them to say it in their own words.
Please consider donating. Donations can be made directly to Barb at work or for convenience and/or if you choose anonymity thru this site.
Thank you
She has come to a pivotal point in the illness where life altering surgery is needed.
Her grandmother is a Co worker and has been by her side thru this journey. She will be going with Lauren for this opportunity and will miss work.
They will need to travel to St. Louis for testing to give Lauren a chance at a better quality of life with a transplant.
This will not be cheap. They are going to need help with travel expenses, lodging, food and other possible expenses related to this trip.
Honestly, they are very private and have NOT asked for anyone to help. I'm doing this after twisting both their arms to allow me to post this and give people the opportunity to be there for them.
I'm going to let them tell you the story in their words to help you understand this request.
Below is from each of them.
Barb:
"Lauren was born with a tethered spine. That’s where the nerve endings at the base of the spine are tangled and tethered and cannot move freely. That has caused her kidneys, bladder and bowels to be affected and suffer. She’s had 42 surgeries since birth, most of them to correct problems with her major organs and her spine. Over time, her kidneys have stopped working and she went on dialysis when she was 17. Three years ago she was placed on the transplant list. Typically it takes 3-5 years to get a kidney. Her Dr has suggested we list in another state to double her chances of getting a kidney. He suggested St Louis since he is acquainted with their program. I call Lauren a kidney warrior because she’s overcome so much but she keeps on going and she keeps a positive attitude thru it all.
The money will be used for expenses related to transplant".
Lauren:
"When I was born I was born with something called a tethered spin. That is when the movement in the spinal cord is limited within the spinal column due to abnormal tissue attachments. Usually, as a child develops, the spinal cord ends at a point in the lower back where it is not attached to any skin or other structure. This gives the cord freedom to grow along with your child but with a tethered spin it causes the cord to attach to the spinal column and then as a child grows, the spinal cord can stretch, causing damage to the cord and the nerves around it. Meaning damage to back and sometimes bladder and kidneys. All in all the tethered spin damaged my kidneys overtime to the point they just “died” and don’t work at all. I have had kidney damage all my life because of the spin problem and it just took longer to actually fail them. Your kidney damage is put into a “grade system” ranging 1-5 with 1 is is good and 5 is totally dead and failed. I staying in a stage 4 for quite awhile before finally getting to stage 5. I finally reached stage 5 in August of 2015 at age 16 and started dialysis almost right after falling into stage 5. Getting started with dialysis I started at Riley doing dialysis for 4 hrs 3 days a week. Finally in the year 2017 they determined I was eligible for transplant and listed me. I’ve been on the list ever since waiting.
Shortly after I turned 18 I had to leave Riley and I trained to do all my dialysis treatments at home. So now I have been doing home dialysis every since".
.......I know this has been a lot to read and take in but I felt the only way to do justice to Lauren's story was to allow them to say it in their own words.
Please consider donating. Donations can be made directly to Barb at work or for convenience and/or if you choose anonymity thru this site.
Thank you
Organizer and beneficiary
Jorga Ellen Moore
Organizer
Noblesville, IN
Barbara Carter
Beneficiary