Support Chastidy's Dad in His Kidney Transplant Journey

During this difficult time, I have had to think of a future that I don’t think any child should ever have to think about. I don’t want to think about the possibility of my daddy not standing at my mom’s side as my sisters and I grow up. I don’t want to imagine what it would be like to lose the backbone of my family but this is just our current reality.

My name is Chastidy and I am trying to raise money for my daddy because he needs a Kidney Transplant. This will help cover medical expenses like special dietary requirements, medication, medical bills, and transportation just to name a few. I am currently a freshman in college and I am majoring in Biology. After getting my bachelor's degree I plan to go to medical school to become a pediatric surgeon. My daddy inspired me to become a pediatric surgeon because of everything he went through as a child and what he is going through now. He has struggled with his health since the day he was born. He was born with hydrocele and jaundice. He had to have immediate surgery at 2 months old. The following month he returned to the hospital and had to be resuscitated. In November of the year 1985, at the age of 18 months old, he was abused by his babysitter. He had to be hospitalized for 10 days due to having sustained burns ranging from second to third-degree in the groin area which also resulted in him having a bladder infection.

After this incident for the next 5 months, his mom had to keep taking him to the hospital only for him to be diagnosed with various viruses. Eventually, on April 24, 1986, he was admitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with pyelonephritis, hydroureter, coli-urosepsis, renal failure, and pseudomonas candidal. Because of this discovery, he had to have two nephrostomy bags, a vasectomy bag, and a urostomy bag. After more doctor’s visits, on June 18, 1986, doctors found that he had an ectopic kidney, and the ureter connected to the ectopic kidney was emptying into the prostate. This led to the enterocele being filled with pus and obstruction. In 1993, he was finally able to have surgery for reconstruction of his bladder and a kidney transplant.

For the past 31 years, he has been able to live a good life but in July of this year, he received devastating news at the Emergency room. Several tests were done and his test results were highly alarming to his doctor. He was referred to a nephrologist at Cedar Sinai. At this appointment, he was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease and was told that his kidney was functioning at 16%. This was difficult for me to find out because it was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that one of the only people I looked to as my source of strength and comfort was diagnosed with something incurable. Ever since I was a little girl, I have looked up to him as one of the constants in my life. Someone who will always be there for me no matter

what and because of this it was difficult to think that maybe he wouldn’t actually be there anymore.

While I was struggling with his diagnosis he has handled it with such strength and has faith that it will work out in the end. Because of this, he has given me the courage to have faith that everything will work out. We are thankful for your support now and always.