Help Me Save My Kidney and My Life

My name is Saphron and I’m reaching out with the deepest humility and hope.

In February 2024, I received a life-changing gift: a kidney transplant that doctors said could last 30 to 50 years. It was a perfect match, and everything started beautifully. I was discharged after just seven days. My energy returned gradually, I was eating healthy, going to the gym, and doing everything right.

But two months later, everything changed.

I began getting frequent infections, UTIs, and food poisoning — all of which began to affect my new kidney. My creatinine started to climb, but despite my concerns, my doctors didn’t take my symptoms seriously. Booking me appointments 2 weeks + apart. On the outside, I looked healthy, but inside, my body was fighting for this kidney.

To make things worse, my family are useless they didn’t support my recovery at all. I had no family or friends around to help and if I’m honest, my health has been a big burden in my family due to everyone having their own selfish addictions. My mental health suffered, and I was forced to carry all of this alone — while still trying to recover from a major transplant that requires 12 months of dedicated care.

What made the recovery even harder is that I live alone. From something as simple as making a cup of tea, or putting together a snack, everything became a challenge. There were days I couldn’t even complete basic tasks without becoming exhausted.

I was hospitalised twice last year due to starvation and malnutrition, all from lack of support around me. Still to this day, I find myself doing one simple errand — and then coming home and crashing, sleeping for three hours just to recover. This has been my routine for the past five plus months, and it’s deeply depressing and isolating.

On top of that, I haven’t been able to get a job, go on holiday, or do any of the things I’ve wanted to do because I’ve been too unwell. My doctors have even deemed it medically unsafe for me to leave the country for leisure, so I’ve been stuck — not just physically, but emotionally and mentally too. Life has been on hold, and I’ve been doing everything I can just to survive.

My hospital appointments were spaced out longer and longer, even as my condition worsened. When they finally decided to do a biopsy, I asked for anxiety medication to help, as I suffer from severe medical anxiety. Instead, I was mocked and pressured into the procedure in an unsafe and traumatic way — and I couldn’t go through with it.

From that moment on, I was dismissed completely. The lack of support for young people is awful. They had given me a kidney and pushed me out into the world to fend for myself. My bills started to back log and life has got pretty depressing and I’m feeling the pressure.

Eventually, I was told I would need to go back on the transplant list. That moment broke me. I walked out of the hospital — the same place I’d trusted for 10 years — and never returned. For the past four months, I’ve had no medical care. I’ve been living each day as safely as I can, trying to keep my kidney going and protect my mental health. I have changed hospital and had my first appointment with my new renal doctor last week. I also have a new doctors surgery too.

But right now, my kidney is functioning at just 11%. I am fighting every day to avoid going back on dialysis — something I’ve already experienced, and something that changed my life forever.

During this dark time in still trying to hold onto hope, so I’ve taken a small step toward rebuilding my life: I’ve applied for an interior design course and been accepted — something I’ve always dreamed of doing. I’ve had a love for design and creativity for as long as I can remember, but for the past four years, illness has completely taken over my life. I was too unwell, too unsupported, and honestly too demotivated to think about the future.

Now, despite everything, I’m trying to give myself a reason to keep going. Since I can’t work right now and my health is unstable, this course gives me something positive to focus on — something that brings me joy, purpose, and a sense of direction again and god willing, find a career in what I have always dreamed of doing.

At my most recent clinic appointment on June 13th, I was told that my transplant kidney is failing, and I was presented with three options: 1. Go back on the transplant list, which would mean living with four kidneys and facing another major surgery. 2. Return to dialysis, with no clear plan for when — or if — I’d get another transplant. 3. Plan my end-of-life care. Hearing those words broke something in me and I’ve been leaning more towards my end of life plan. I’ve been fighting for so long, and to be given these choices, especially after everything I’ve already endured, left me completely overwhelmed. 

But I’ve chosen not to give up — I’m asking for help as my last option so I can get a better opinion and better healthcare by getting expert care abroad, saving my kidney if possible, and building a life that’s still mine to live.

I’m going to be honest — my anxiety and depression has skyrocketed. I’ve never had suicidal thoughts before, but losing something as precious as a second (or third) chance at life has been one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. Usually, I am a strong person. But this has completely broken me, and I’m very much on the verge of giving up.

Writing this and putting myself out there has taken every bit of courage I have. I feel extremely vulnerable, but I’m choosing to post this in the hope that someone out there can understand what I’m going through — someone who might be able to help, or even just support me through this dark and uncertain time.

Before all of this, I was deeply committed to natural healing. I had put my kidney disease in remission three times through plant-based healing and holistic practices. But with no support system, I eventually had no choice but to start dialysis 4 years ago. That’s when everything in my life began to unravel.

Now I’m asking for help — to raise funds so I can get private medical treatment and specialists who will actually listen, take my condition seriously, and help me save this kidney before it’s too late. With the right care, I believe there’s still time to recover and heal — but I can’t do it alone anymore.

How Your Donations Will Be Used:

Clinic: MAYO Clinic in Cleveland, USA

They have the highest success rate for kidney transplants and transplant failure in the world.

1. Medical Consultation & Tests – £1,600 to £3,950

This will cover consultations with kidney transplant specialists in the USA, along with tests to assess my current kidney function, medication needs, and options to save my transplant. These doctors can give the second opinion and care that I haven’t been able to get in the UK.

2. Flights – £475 to £870

Round-trip flights from the UK to a top transplant hospital (like Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic) in the USA. This is necessary to access care that could help prevent total kidney failure.

3. Accommodation – £330 to £1,580

This covers 1–2 weeks in a safe and nearby hotel or apartment while I attend appointments, do tests, and recover from any minor procedures. I’ll be travelling alone, so I’ll need somewhere secure and quiet to rest.

4. Local Transport & Food – £395 to £710

Covers getting to and from appointments, plus basic meals while I’m there. This is a small but important part of staying well enough to follow through with care.

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Total Estimated Range for medical bills and expenses:

£2,800 – £7,100

I’ve rounded to £12,000 just in case I need to stay extra or any emergencies happen whilst doing my treatment or once I get back home. Also to cover the costs for my ES dog boarding care while I’m not in the country.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. Thank you for your time, your heart, and your understanding.

If you can donate — no matter how small — you are helping me fight for my life. And if you can’t donate, please share this with someone who might be able to. Every repost, every share, every kind word — it all helps.

With love,

Saphron Lee-Own