Last chance to enjoy the life she only dreamt of ...

Hello, Family and Friends. We are asking for your assistance in supporting Alanna and Trevor’s wedding. My name is Samantha. I have been given the blessing to share Alanna's story for whom I created this GoFundMe page.

This isn’t your typical monetary request to support a wedding but an utmost dream for Alanna to fulfill alongside her fiancé Trevor, the love of her life.

Alanna was raised in Fort McMurray #468 First Nation. She is also the third oldest of her six siblings. She has the biggest heart only one could dream of and holds the ones she loves incredibly close. Some may say she can be quite the firecracker who loves to laugh and create memorial moments. She is beyond a proud aunty, a loving daughter, a caring sister, and a supportive cousin.

At 14, Alanna got up and was getting ready for school. She told her mom that she wasn’t feeling well that morning. My aunty Nancy (Alanna's mom) said that she could stay home that day, and maybe after a bath, she would start to feel better. Alanna began to feel worse in the bathtub; her body felt heavy, and it took all her strength to get out of the bathtub to call for help. My aunty Nan came rushing to her and recognized that Alanna was pail, and her lips were blue. Immediately, she called an ambulance and her sister for support. Upon her sister's arrival, they realized the ambulance wouldn't make it in time, as Alanna looked more visibly distressed. Both my aunties assisted Alanna to their vehicle and rushed her to the hospital.

Upon arrival, the ER nurses and doctors rushed to Alanna's assistance, but all efforts were working against them as Alanna went into cardiac arrest. All life-saving measures were used, and the only means of survival would be to fly Alanna to the University of Alberta Hospital. During the flight, Alanna would go into cardiac arrest two more times before arrival.

After four days in an induced coma, Alanna would wake up to the news that she had suffered end-stage kidney disease (also known as kidney failure).

Little did we know, this would be the beginning of Alanna's long battle for survival.

Since Alanna's diagnosis, her journey hasn't been the easiest for herself or her family. She mostly lives between Fort McMurray Hospital and the University of Alberta Hospital. For 17 years, Alanna has been on both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Altogether, Alanna has endured nine-line surgeries as each vein she utilized would eventually become weak and unable to sustain her dialysis treatment.

In the meantime, in her nine surgeries, she had endured two heart attacks, blood clots, bronchitis, TB, diverticulitis and common colds, which are so detrimental to someone with a weakened immune system.

In the midst of Alanna’s hospital stays and sickness, she met Trevor. They started as friends and would hang out often. At 27, Alanna and Trevor would make their relationship official. He had seen Alanna past all her medical distresses and hospital stays. He became her number-one supporter in anything she needed. He saw the Alanna we all knew and loved, could see her past struggles, and loved her for who she truly is. I believe they both needed love and found love in each other.

Throughout the years, we all knew Alanna would need a kidney transplant and that dialysis was only a temporary solution until a transplant was completed. The doctors stated that my aunty Nan wouldn't be a feasible candidate due to being anemic. More families reach out, but each workup would end in either the donor or the recipient falling into some health concerns, therefore making the transplant surgery voided.

At the age of 32 and 18 years after Alanna's diagnosis, my aunty Nan gave it another shot to see if she was a feasible candidate. Alanna and Aunty Nan cried as they were made aware that Aunty Nan was a successful donor candidate. This would mean Alanna would have another shot at life without dialysis, a life with adventure, and a life she could share with her fiancé.

October 4th, 2023: The family gathered as Alanna and Aunty Nan went into operation, and we awaited the verdict. The transplant was a SUCCESS! They would need time to heal and adjust to this new life, but both were beyond grateful, and tears of gratitude were shredded that day.

Six short months later, Alanna would be rushed back to Fort McMurray Hospital with signs of distress. Quickly, they noticed that Alanna was fighting an infection in her blood, and her blood count was extremely low. The doctors consulted the University of Alberta Hospital, which would result in Alanna being airlifted back to Edmonton to determine the cause and what was happening within her body.

Since we don’t know what caused her body to reject her kidneys at such a young age we were made aware that the body rejecting the new transplant would be the worst case scenario for Alanna.

The University of Alberta Hospital gave her another blood transfusion as they were waiting for testing. The results showed that Alanna’s donated kidney was operating at 8%. The doctors stated that the operation of the kidney would only decrease over time, that Alanna was no longer a candidate for another transplant, and that her last remaining port for dialysis would eventually become unusable.

The family was called in for support, and end-of-life plans were expected to be made if Alanna decided not to go on dialysis again. But in Alanna's fashion, she wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and the family was going to stand next to her as she continued her battle with end-stage kidney failure.

Our wish for Alanna as her family is to give her the life, she only dreamed of by completing a bucket list of adventures and supporting her in her ultimate goal of marrying the love of her life, Trevor.

This brings us to our family and friends near and far. We ask for your support in making this dream possible for Alanna and Trevor. We understand that monetary support isn’t always ideal in our current economy, so please donate if you can. You can always reach out to the family directly (Nancy) to support. Your support would be greatly appreciated in fulfilling Alanna’s last chance at the life she only dreamt of.