Robin Pinto's 2nd Kidney Transplant

Hello my friends! This will be a lengthy read but I encourage you to read it all the way through so you have a good understanding of why I am making this "ask" on behalf of my Living Donor. As many of you know, I have been battling a rare kidney disease for 15 years called IgA Nephropathy where my body thinks my kidneys are foreign and need to be destroyed. On February 10, 2009 I was so blessed to receive my first kidney transplant from my incredibly wonderful husband, John Pinto. John knew from the moment we found out I was sick that he would be my donor, the doctor laughed at him and told him it wasn't likely but HE knew! We truly thought it would be a forever kidney. However, life had other plans and unfortunately I am now in stage 4 renal failure and need another kidney transplant. I recently received my transplant date of February 3, 2022 (almost exactly 13 years to the day after my first transplant!)

I was told to reach out to friends and family to find a match....again! This news was utterly devastating to me initially, but I have a great deal of faith and trust by the grace of God, I would find a donor. Several dear friends and family members were so gracious to get tested and offered to be my donor....a gift in and of itself that I will NEVER forget!

But there was one person in particular that just knew from the beginning that HE was going to be my donor, that it was meant to be. That person is my incredibly selfless son in law Sean Martin. Sean has known in his heart from the very beginning that he was supposed to be my donor, that he would be a match and after a great deal of testing, sure enough.....he is a perfect match!! Donating a kidney to someone is so much more than a surgical procedure, it is quite literally giving someone the GIFT OF LIFE! His gift will allow me to live to continue to be a wife to my husband, a daughter to my mother, a mother to my children, a friend to the many people I love and a Nana to my grandchildren. There are simply not enough words in the English language to describe the extent of my love and gratitude to Sean for stepping into this role as "SUPER HERO" and saving my life. It is the most selfless act one can do in life.

This leads me to my ask here; Sean is a newlywed to my daughter and a father to my one year old granddaughter, Robin. They have recently relocated to the area to be closer to family and made the decision for my daughter to stay home to raise their beautiful daughter. Sean recently started a new job and does not have any vacation time built up yet. Sadly, there are a great deal of expenses associated with being a kidney donor which has come as a tremendous shock to our family. All of his medical expenses WILL be covered. However, there is no accounting for his lost wages during the 4 to 8 weeks of recovery or any of the travel expenses to and from NYC. It's hard to believe that someone can give such a gift but be expected to use their vacation time (if they have it) or their own savings to pay their lost wages and expenses. This simply isn't possible in a single income household for a young couple. Saving a life should NEVER be about money but unfortunately it is.

I have seen miracles happen in my lifetime on many occasions and have been so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such loving, selfless people that are willing to give a part of themselves to save my life. This "ask" is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but it is for all of the right reasons. I want to take the financial pressure off of what is already such a stressful decision and one that was made without hesitation. Please join me in helping to support my living donor during this time of tremendous sacrifice. Bless you and thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Robin Pinto

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