Cristina's Kidneys

Hi, my name is Cristina Rosales & I have Stage Four Kidney Disease & am also a Type I Diabetic. I recently began dialysis treatment, which has altered my family’s daily lives. I want to tell you about my story.

Before Covid, I worked at Kids Korner at the Wellness Institute. Unfortunately, I was laid off from work due to Covid lockdowns. It wasn’t long after I found out I was pregnant. I began developing complications during my pregnancy during my second trimester (week 16). I was diagnosed with severe Pre-eclampsia, which also led to other complications that included loss of eyesight & heart failure. These complications worsened rapidly & ended up with me having to be admitted to the hospital, where I spent all of December without being able to see my family. Throughout my complications, I underwent various treatments, which included multiple eye surgeries, four blood transfusions, two Iron infusions & a Bone Marrow Biopsy.

It is scary to think back to the beginning of my complications & to remember how the doctors were not sure if my baby would even make it. We are blessed that our baby was able to come into our lives healthy at just 33 weeks.

At this point, the doctors informed me that my recovery would be longer than usual due to my pregnancy complications. After about six months, I finally began to feel like myself again & we thought we were in the clear. I suddenly began swelling up the day before our son's 1st Birthday. As a result, I visited the hospital multiple times for various tests before being referred to the Reno Clinic. They performed a Biopsy of my Kidneys, which confirmed that my Kidneys were failing & functioning at only 19%.

Once I was diagnosed with Kidney Failure, I was placed on the transplant list for a Kidney donor. The Reno Clinic also began educating us on the types of Dialysis treatments available, which they felt would not be needed for some time. Unfortunately, my condition deteriorated rapidly & resulted in further hospital visits, where it was confirmed that my Kidney was now functioning at only 8%. At this point, my energy was so low that I spent most of my time bedridden. Given the state of my Kidney & the severe symptoms I was experiencing (severe swelling, lack of energy, difficulty breathing, nausea & loss of appetite), my Reno doctor decided it was best to get me started on dialysis treatments as soon as possible. By the end of that same week, I had received my first dialysis treatment. During the same time, I had a willing donor going through the process of completing various tests to determine their eligibility as a living donor. We recently discovered that they are ineligible.

My family & I are currently living on a single income. We have decided to make this page with the hopes that any money raised would be used towards any medical costs, transportation costs, and future medications required for post-transplant.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for taking the time to learn my story, thank you to all who have supported us during these difficult times, & thank you to anyone willing to donate.