Hello everyone. You may or may not have heard my story so let me share a little of it with you. I was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy (kidney disease) the day before my 17th birthday, almost 20 years ago. I'm now 36 with two beautiful twin daughters and an incredibly supportive husband.

I have been blessed enough to receive 2 kidney transplants since my original diagnosis, but unfortunately, both transplants rejected much earlier than we could have anticipated. I am currently on dialysis for the 3rd time in my life. This most recent run has been challenging to say the least.

As most kidney transplants reject, the kidney merely shrivels up and just stops working. It dies quietly. In my most recent transplant, that has not been the case. I experienced significant and painful inflammation and multiple hospitalizations which caused me to have to step down from my job.

I am currently on year three of dialysis this time as I work on the steps towards transplant but bills are stacking up. I’m not longer able to help my husband with our finances, which is putting a strain on us all.

This would be a big ask for anyone, but my little family would appreciate any and all help. Unfortunately, we did find out that a living donor will not be an option for this transplant, but I still encourage you to get yourself marked as a donor. While mine may not have lasted as long as I had hoped, they have still bought me a few years of normalcy here and there that have been precious to me.