For years, Mang has poured her heart and soul into her friends and family.

She’s the person who drove more than an hour to bring home-cooked meals to friends who were living in a hospital with their critically-ill child. She’s the person who makes extra food for dinner just so she can share with her pickleball friends.

Mang is the kind of friend everyone wants in their corner. She’s the friend with the big, welcoming smile that we all need.

After years of nurturing her friends, family, and perfect strangers, Mang recently shared that she has kidney failure.

This past summer, Mang left her Minnesota community health job advocating for health equity in the Twin Cities. She and her husband, Sou, moved to Georgia with their two young daughters, hoping the weather and new scenery would improve her health. They sold what they could to fund the move (except their cherished pickleball paddles, of course). But six weeks into their move, Mang’s Minnesota physician called and told her to rush back for an emergency consult due to alarming lab results.

Mang and Sou had no choice but to buy tickets for their entire family to come back for the appointment. The news was grave: the doctor said that Mang needs a kidney transplant soon.

After the devastating news, Mang and Sou knew that they had no choice but to move back to Minnesota to be with family.

Luckily, Sou was able to get a job when they returned. He is the sole provider as Mang tries to manage mounting medical and day-to-day bills, help their girls transition back to Minnesota, and prepare for long-term treatment at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester. At Mayo, which is more than an hour away from their home in Stillwater, Mang and Sou will be responsible for their own meals, gas, and lodging.

If you have been touched by Mang and Sou’s generosity, love, smiles, or prayers, please donate to help our sweetest friend on her journey toward health and healing.

If you would like to help Mang directly, you can reach her at Sou_mang at h o t m a i l . c o m.

With Love,

Maggie, Susie, Shary, Leila