Let me introduce our amazing friend Heidy. Mother to two incredible ladies, Luana and Lyah. Wife to Erivandro aka Piu. Born in Sao Vicente, Cape Verde where she still lives today.

A few years ago while living on the island of Sal, Heidy begun to feel unwell. Juggling 3 jobs that she loved, she decided to seek medical advice for her symptoms. After thorough investigation doctors concluded she was suffering from kidney failure.

Her life as she knew it changed in a second. Her and her entire family packed up, dog included and boarded a boat for their home island to receive the medical care she desperately required.

Dialysis….every other day for the rest of her life.

Dry food and minimal liquid intake.

Heidy lost her hair.

Heidy lost weight.

Heidy was unable to walk.

They thought she wouldn’t make it through this phase.

But she did! She gained weight, her hair grew back, and low and behold she become pregnant and gave birth to Lyah after every doctor telling her she could never conceive. They are both better than ever!

However treatment continues at the moment daily. And to give context, she goes to hospital everyday for 4-6hours where her blood is cleaned via an IV. She then returns home after collecting her daughter, cooks, cleans and is all the mum anyone else is. Her strength is indescribable.

So why am I telling you all this?

Cape Verde does not offer transplants at all, so her options are very limited. She sticks to the current plan of basic dialysis and hopes her body continues to fight for as long as possible or we raise her enough money to test as many of her family that are willing to donate a kidney and get her to a transplant centre outside of Cape Verde.

After initial enquiries with a living donor willing to give Heidy the Kidney she needs, costs will likely be around £40,000. This will include testing all family members, travel to transplant centres, consultations, two transplants, after care and the support her babies will need while she undergoes this life saving surgery.

Huge I know but I think with the power of the internet we can make it happen!

Anything you can donate to help Heidy live a long life with her beautiful family will be worth more than u can imagine!