Imagine this:  One night you fall asleep in your bed. Your head hits the pillow and all the days problems melt away. Your muscles relax, your breathing slows and sleep takes hold. Tomorrow is another day.  Except this morning — this morning is different. You can feel the sunlight, but your eyelids feel like blackout curtains as you try to open them. Your arms, legs, fingers, toes — every part of you feels like its being stretched on some ancient and barbaric torture device. With all your strength you struggle up and out of bed and walk over to the mirror. When you look into it, you see a person looking back who appears to have been in a car accident. This is exactly what happened to my friend, Torey Marks. And it wasn’t an accident that caused this appearance — it was the 40 lbs of water weight gain that had been accruing for days in her body due to kidney failure. She started dialysis the next day.  <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/62299965_1642559926885912_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" alt="62299965_1642559926885912_r.jpeg" /> <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/62299965_1642559870773668_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" alt="62299965_1642559870773668_r.jpeg" /> Unfortunately, for our stories’ heroine, kidney failure is just the most recent obstacle in a life wrought with health issues. Diagnosed with diabetes at age 8, she was told by doctors at Cedar’s Sinai that she would eventually need a kidney/pancreas transplant. Torey has known for a long time that, eventually, the generosity of others would be needed in order to save her life; and that time has finally come. I’m not here to appeal to you for a kidney (but if you’re so inclined, we’re currently looking for an A+ blood donor) — instead, I’m coming to you in hopes of helping to fulfill my friend’s greatest dream of becoming a mother. As with any major ailment or surgery, there are unforeseen and unaccounted for effects that can come with the cure. For Torey, it means the inability to carry her own child. And with treatment beginning soon, she has only five weeks to harvest and freeze her eggs so that one day she may have a child of her own. She is not able to take medication for egg harvesting while on dialysis and soon the ability to have her own child will become out of reach. Torey, who has dedicated her entire life to helping new moms — myself included — through one of the scariest journey’s of their lives find peace and consistency with their bundles of joy; deserves the opportunity to have the same wondrous experience with her own child. Knowing first-hand the magic of new motherhood and what it has done for me, I pray my friend is able to experience this joy. I truly hope to be able to help our friend achieve her dream on the other side of her battle.  <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/62299965_1642559982967986_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" alt="62299965_1642559982967986_r.jpeg" /> Grateful for your time, love and support!  -Rebecca

Anonymous

Joel Altobello

Stanley Cieslik

Maria Arbulu

April Jones

Birgit Staudt

Marc Kronenberg

Mickey Fisher

Mindy Leslie

Ama Quao

Help me save Torey and fulfill her dream!

Help me save Torey and fulfill her dream!

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