Hello,

This fund is dedicated to my brother, Ezequiel Araiza, who is currently in the end stage of chronic kidney disease (Stage 5 kidney failure or close to failure) with an eGFR of 7.

My brother is 31 years old and a Dallas TX native. He is a husband to Yesenia and has a 3-year-old daughter named Aileen.

My brother has always been a strong-minded provider as the eldest brother of 5. He is fondly spoken of as the favorite and is the most selfless person I know. My brother has always gone above and beyond for our parents and siblings. When he became a father 3 years ago, I knew he wouldn’t have an issue as he always watched over his 4 siblings with ease. Our family has always been close-knitted as each of us is very close in age. Unbeknownst to us, our life completely took a turn when at the age of 25 my brother was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. My brother, who was a previously healthy person with no other past medical history, had his whole life changed during that hospital visit over a high blood pressure vital taken at home. My brother has been battling CKD for 6 years now and we are now faced with the next step: the search for a living or deceased kidney donor.

My brother was told earlier this year that his eGFR level is now at 7%. eGFR is the glomerular filtration rate, a measurement of how well your kidneys are working to clean your blood. Any level below 90%, indicates that you have some form of chronic kidney disease. There are 5 stages known as early stages 1-3 which indicate focusing on lifestyle changes and eating a kidney-friendly diet. Then there are 2 later stages 4 and 5 which lead to you being followed by a nephrologist specialist and exploring treatment options, such as a kidney transplant or dialysis. We are now at the final stage and are currently on the waitlist for a kidney donor. The search for a matching kidney donor can take between 3-5 years. Most people on the waitlist are not able to wait and are therefore placed on dialysis or pass away from complications. We are trying our best to be able to find my brother a match before considering dialysis as an option. We are hopeful that somewhere out there, there is a loving person who can help my brother out. My brother is a very hard-working person, despite this disease he is a full-time employee at AT&T and enjoys spending his off days gaming with his PC console, being with family or enjoying himself at car meets as he drives a ‘14 Shelby Mustang and is a car fanatic.

We are in constant prayer to God, Jesus and the Virgin Mary for our family to be able to find my brother a match very soon. We are starting this gofundme to help with the cost of the kidney transplant which will unfortunately not be fully covered by his medical insurance provider.

If you are able to donate, the Martinez & Araiza family thank you for your commitment and kind donation.

We also kindly appreciate it if you share and forward this page.