Help Steve Receive a Life-Saving Kidney Transplant

There are moments in life that break you — and then there are seasons that never seem to end.

Over the last few years, our family has lived through more heartbreak, fear, and loss than we ever thought possible.

Our precious daughter Anna was diagnosed with an extremely rare autoimmune kidney disease called Complement 3 Glomerulopathy, affecting only about one in a million people. As we began preparing for the reality of a kidney transplant, Anna became critically ill and was rushed to Birmingham with a neutropenic fever.

Five months into fighting kidney disease, our world shattered.

On December 15, 2023, Anna was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and transferred to Children’s Hospital to begin aggressive chemotherapy in an effort to save her life. Everything else in our lives stopped. We lived moment to moment, praying for a miracle.

As Anna endured months of treatment and prepared for a bone marrow transplant, tragedy struck again.

On the very day we were checking in to begin her transplant, her father, Steve, collapsed at home. What he believed was a heart attack turned out to be Stage 5 kidney disease and kidney failure. He, too, would now need a kidney transplant to survive.

So while our daughter fought for her life in Birmingham, Steve fought for his in Dothan — separated, unable to be together during the most terrifying days of our lives.

When we finally arrived for Anna’s transplant, she was diagnosed with COVID-19, canceling the procedure and costing us the selfless donor who had traveled from another country to save her. We were desperate. Doctors could not use her twin sister as a donor, and time was running out.

It was then decided that I, her mother, Amy, would be her donor.

Anna received her bone marrow transplant on April 2, 2024, and for the first time in months, hope returned.

But, the radiation required for transplant took a devastating toll on her body. Her kidneys failed, her liver began failing, and she was moved to the Pediatric ICU and placed on continuous dialysis.

Despite efforts, her body began to shut down.

A dear family friend — though very ill himself — drove Steve so he could be with Anna. As a family, we held our baby in our arms and watched her pass peacefully from our arms into God’s. She was barely 19 years old.

There are no words for that kind of loss.

And yet, life did not stop asking more of us.

Just seven weeks later, my father passed away unexpectedly from pneumococcal pneumonia. Grief piled on top of grief, leaving us breathless and broken.

During this time, our family faced overwhelming financial strain. I lost my job after missing so much work to care for Anna, and Steve’s health severely limited his ability to work. We were sustained only by the kindness of family and friends — generosity we will never be able to fully express gratitude for.

Then, on December 16, 2024 — exactly 366 days after Anna’s cancer diagnosis — I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and required urgent surgery. Once again, our family was shaken to its core.

Less than two weeks after my surgery, Steve’s kidneys failed completely, and he was placed on dialysis. Though he is able to do dialysis at home, it requires 11 hours of his time every single day, all while he continues to work as much as humanly possible just to keep going.

We were devastated to learn that the wait for a deceased-donor kidney could be up to seven years — time we knew Steve did not have.

Then, in the middle of all this darkness, we were sent an angel.

Steve’s cousin selflessly came forward and offered to be his kidney donor. We were overjoyed to learn she is a perfect match. Steve is now scheduled to receive his life-saving kidney transplant on February 19.

The expenses associated with transplantation are significant, and after years of medical crises, loss, and reduced income, the financial burden is overwhelming.

We are asking for help so Steve can focus on surviving, healing, and continuing to be a father to children who have already lost so much.

If you are able to donate, we are deeply grateful. If you cannot, please consider sharing this page and keeping our family in your prayers.

Thank you for standing with us in our darkest hours.