Hi, my name is Michael, and I’m raising funds for my fiancée Zara.

Over the past few years, Zara has been battling serious and complex health issues. She was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, a kidney disease that led to kidney failure and severe high blood pressure.

Earlier this year, Zara was rushed to the hospital and had to start emergency dialysis. What should have been a difficult but manageable treatment quickly became more complicated when she was also diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), a condition that causes dangerous pressure in the brain and leads to severe headaches, dizziness, and balance issues.

Managing both conditions together has been extremely challenging. Dialysis affects fluid and pressure levels in the body, while IIH also involves pressure regulation, making treatment more complex than usual.

After speaking further with doctors and learning more about Zara’s condition, we were advised that seeking care at Mayo Clinic would likely not provide different treatment than what she is already receiving here in Canada. Because of this, we have shifted our focus toward supporting her current care and exploring other options that may help improve her overall health.

Since then, Zara has been working hard to stabilize her condition. She recently transitioned to peritoneal dialysis (PD), but it has not yet been fully effective, and she has needed to return to hemodialysis at times to help manage her levels. She continues to undergo treatment every couple of days and is still dealing with constant fatigue, weakness, and ongoing symptoms from IIH.

At this stage, Zara is stable, but she is still struggling every day.

We are now focused on two things:

• Supporting Zara through ongoing dialysis and daily living expenses while she is unable to work

• Exploring additional options that may help improve her overall health and quality of life

One option we are considering is treatment at TrueNorth Health Center in California, where we hope to explore therapies that may help with inflammation and her overall condition. This would be a 3-week program, and I would be traveling with her to support her throughout the process.

The estimated costs include:

• $18,000 for treatment

• Travel and accommodation

• Lost income while I take time off work to care for Zara

In total, we are hoping to raise $33,000 to help cover these expenses and support us during this time. Zara is directly involved in this fundraiser, and all funds raised will be used to support her medical care, treatment travel, and essential living needs during this time.

Longer term, Zara is also waiting for a kidney transplant, which we hope will give her a real chance at regaining her health. If anyone is interested in learning more about living kidney donation or paired exchange programs, we would be incredibly grateful to connect privately.

Zara is one of the kindest and strongest people I know. Despite everything she is going through, she continues to fight every single day.

This has been incredibly hard on both of us, physically, emotionally, and financially... but we’re doing everything we can to keep moving forward.

If you are able to help, any donation.. no matter how small.. truly makes a real difference for us right now.

If you can’t donate, sharing this fundraiser can make a huge difference.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting Zara.

— Michael