Hi! This is Isaiah, and he is 24 years old. He was born weighing just under two pounds (along with his twin brother, Andrew) and has been a fantastic fighter ever since! In September of 2020, he became extremely ill and spent a long time in the hospital. We learned that his kidneys are no longer working, and he needs a kidney transplant to save his life. He is currently on dialysis three days a week to keep him becoming hospitalized again. We are trying to get him listed with multiple transplant regions to increase his chances of finding a match quickly.

Before he got sick, he was VERY active in the community. He played softball, basketball, and bowling with the Special Olympics. He is also a member of Butler Best Buddies and the Sunshine Social Club where he gets to hang out with some of his best friends and have fun! He LOVES High School Musical 2; and knows ALL of the dance moves! He also likes to play Yu-Gi-Oh cards with his brothers when they are home from college. His is an Urban Artisan with ArtMix of Indiana where he works as part of a team of artists to create beautiful art for our community. He also attends a day program called W.A.L.L.S. where he works on independent-living skills, helping to prepare him for a job in the community someday when he is healthy. Since he has become sick, he has not been able to spend much time doing any of these things. We are hoping that he will be able to find a new kidney very soon. We have been looking for several months but have, unfortunately, not been able to find one yet. The more regions we are able to list in, the better our chanced become at finding a match!

Now, we are headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to give Isaiah a better chance at finding the perfect match! Our first visit for evaluation is coming up from November 7th - 10th. We are very excited about this, but we know it is going to cost a lot of money. That is where you come in. We need help. Accounting for all expenses including medical expenses not covered by insurance, all travel related expenses, and lost wages for Erika, it will cost at least $30,000. This is a lofty goal, but not unreachable. Please consider making a donation. Every single dollar helps. If you are not able to donate at this time, please share.

Why does Isaiah need a kidney?

In 2015, he was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy (Berger's Disease). It was not an issue for several years, and he did not have to take any medications to manage it. Routine labs came back normal, and he was closely followed by his nephrologist. On Labor Day 2020, he suddenly began to feel very sick. Since our family doctor could not see him in person, he had a virtual visit. She wanted to test him for Covid-19 (which he did not have). By the end of the week, he was even sicker. He saw a doctor at a respiratory clinic who said he had an upper respiratory illness, but he was wrong. By that Sunday, he had been admitted to the hospital ICU and had to be on a ventilator due to congestive heart failure caused by his kidneys failing. He now has over 70% scar tissue on my kidneys and has lost almost all kidney function. It has been a very long journey since that diagnosis.

If you are interested in becoming my kidney donor, please visit https://stvincent.donorscreen.org/register/now

You can find more information about becoming a living donor here: https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/living-donation

If you don't aspire to be a kidney donor, you may know someone who could be interested. For that reason, I am asking that you share my story and the link (above) for this webpage on your social media and by email. Just by sharing my story, you will help to save my life. Please, take a moment and share.