Help Support Kristin Through Kidney Failure

Hi, I’m Victoria (Kristin’s little sister). As I write this, Kristin is in the hospital and her condition is serious. Those of you who know Kristin also know it would never cross her mind to ask for help. I’m asking on her behalf.

Early October, Kristin became urgently sick and was rushed to the Emergency Department. Both her kidneys suddenly stopped working (unknown cause), and she is now in the LAST stage of total kidney failure. After a couple days, Kristin was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and began treatment. She has been hospitalized for 3 weeks now, and her overall health is up and down. She was in critical condition on two separate events because of severe internal bleeding. Her body isn’t able to remove fluid naturally from her body, which means her lungs and heart are often backing up with fluid, making it hard to breathe. She has to constantly wear oxygen. She has a nephrologist, cardiologist, respiratory therapist, internal medicine physician and others working at her bedside to manage her illness. There IS hope that after 3 months of treatment, she may regain some of her kidney function. This would reduce the stress put on other parts of her body like lungs and heart. Best case scenario for next year is that she won’t require dialysis anymore. Right now, all these various treatments are adding up to a large hospital bill, even WITH insurance. When she becomes stable enough to get discharged, she will have to go into the dialysis clinic for 4 hours several times a week, adding onto her medical bill.

Kristin owns her own business, has dogs at home, and takes care of her mother Sandra (disabled from a past stroke). We are trying to raise funds to help provide support at home for both Kristin and Sandra (cleaners, dog walkers, home nursing services, etc.) as Kristin will not have the energy to manage all this at home while also making sure her small business (Che Bella Hair Salon) remains in the community as it provides jobs and great customer relationships.

Kristin naturally has strong motivation to do whatever it takes to recover. These funds will help keep her from burning out. Her dedication to the community and to dogs is evident in the years of service volunteering with Soul Dog Rescue, Puppy rescue, HPAB and NMDOG… helping dogs rehabilitate and find proper homes. She spends her vacation time traveling overseas to manage the homeless dog population. Her heart for animals and people is infectious, even while she has been in the hospital she has recruited numerous volunteers to help in Santa Fe, NM with the dogs. She is one of the strongest women I know, and the funds raised will help her get back on her feet. Please join us in helping ensure Kristin’s small business survives and continues to provide jobs for others in the community.

We don’t know if Kristin’s kidneys will recover or if she’ll need a transplant down the road. But for now, this fundraiser will help reduce the stress that medical costs bring. If you cannot give financially, please join us in prayer, and pass along this link to anyone you believe might help. Thank you!