Support Naudia's Fight Against Rare Kidney Disease

I'm telling you this story to help everyone better understand what is currently going on and to also reach out and ask for your help.

My beautiful daughter of only 23 years has just received a terrifying medical diagnosis. As we struggle to navigate through this difficult time, I do not want finances to be an additional burden or a roadblock for her. She is independent, living on her own with all of the adult bills that come along with that. She will not be able to work for a while. Please read my story and if you are able to help at all, every little bit will be appreciated.

Although the story really starts about five years ago, when minor symptoms started to appear, no one put any pieces together until everything started to unfold on June 25 of this year. Naudia had recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, and her labs were being followed to make sure she was on the right level of medications. Six months ago, when her thyroid was tested, the doctor noted a slight decrease in kidney function and ordered the labs to be repeated in six months. These labs showed a further decline in kidney function, and the doctor ordered them to be repeated again in a month. That brings us to two weeks ago when our lives were turned upside down. The kidney function had significantly dropped. The doctor ordered a repeat for the very next day and also an ultrasound of the kidneys. The lab results were even worse, but the ultrasound showed no concerns. As we waited to talk to the doctor, more symptoms started, and we ended up in the emergency room. From that moment on, things started progressing quickly. They wanted to do a kidney biopsy. They told us it was a simple procedure with low risk, but unfortunately, she was one of the few people that have a complication. She started to bleed internally, and it wouldn't stop. She was rushed into an emergency procedure to insert stents into her kidney. The next few days were filled with intractable pain, multiple blood transfusions, and more questions than we had before. Then, Tuesday, July 8th, we received the results from the biopsy. It was IGAN, a rare kidney disease. The news was devastating to all of us. My daughter, my firstborn, and my best friend has an incurable, fatal disease. To make it worse, it was already far into the progression of the disease. It is stage 3 with Crescentic Glomerulonephritis. They immediately started her on a high dose of IV steroids to try to reduce the inflammation in the kidneys. There is still more testing to be done. This disease can have a genetic component and other comorbidities. All of my children could be at risk, and she could have other diagnoses. Naudia will be closely followed by her doctors, and we won't have answers about the prognosis for a long time yet. All I can do is sit by and wait and support her as much as I humanly can. When something this tragic happens, life around us doesn't stop. The rent is still due, and the bills start piling up. I am asking you to donate to help with the financial burden of all of this so she can focus on getting better. I don't want to be in a position where we would have to deny any treatment due to cost. Please help us to provide her with the best care, the newest treatments, and keep her home and car. If anyone reading this has any questions, you can reach out to me. If you want to offer words of support, you can text Naudia. She is still in the hospital, very tired and weak but able to use her phone. Her amazing fiancé, Abi, hasn't left her side since she was admitted. They are not up to visitors yet but know they are reading every word you send. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.