Vanessa's Kidney Transplant Journey

SURPRISE UPDATE ***JULY 2025***

Let’s mix some laughter with tears of joy and celebration. My family and I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts. Your donations have gotten us through my dialysis surgery last May 2024 and now this year 2025, it has gotten us through MY KIDNEY TRANSPLANT!!! That’s right!!!! You’ve read that correctly. I was transplanted this Spring/Summer 2025!!Thank you all for being apart of my journey. These past 4 years have been nothing short of a miracle. I have held on to the promise that all things work out for good even when I was crashing out on friends and family. I did everything in my power to keep going even though my body was failing me. Now today I stand here as a testament to God’s promises. To the donor who saved my life, thank you will never be enough. By you donating your kidney you’ve saved 2 lives: your friend’s life and mine. I will forever be grateful to you and I am glad to have connected with you. Because of your selflessness I am alive today. Wear green for CKD #weweargreenforCKD #transplanted #FSGSwarrior #CKDwarrior

****June 2024 UPDATE****

I want to thank everyone who has donated and have continuously encouraged me over the past several months. Unfortunately, I received the news that my kidney function dropped to 8%. With the advisement of medical professionals and my care team, I underwent surgery for a peritoneal catheter to start peritoneal dialysis. The recovery was very difficult but I am happy to say that everything went well and I am recovering. I am so grateful for the support from all of you. To my sister who has and continues to care for me, Thank you. To people who have continuously checked on me, and FaceTime me, I’m truly grateful for the support system. I look and feel well under the current circumstances considering all things. The journey has just begun and we press on to fight to see another day Thank you all for rocking out with me on this journey ✌.

If you would like to donate, or would like some resources on Chronic kidney disease, or FSGS please contact me for more information and check out the national kidney foundation’s website.

How to Donate Your Kidney

NYU Transplant Institute

National Kidney Foundation

What is FSGS

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/focal

My name is Vanessa Blair and I have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) also known as Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD 5). 2021 was the best year of my life. I became a Speech Pathologist, graduated from St. John’s University and was projected to finally start my dream job working to help support children and youth presenting with vast communicative needs and speech impairments. September 2021 was also the year my life forever changed. I received the harrowing news that I was diagnosed with Kidney Disease with my kidneys functioning at 32%. This reality drastically altered every aspect of my being. I went from celebrating my accomplishments to grieving over my hidden chronic illness. Currently, it is November 2023 and my kidneys are functioning at 11%; I am at the end stage of kidney disease. Despite everything I am blessed to know that I am still able to work, to walk and to move my body. Most people who are in the end stages are not so lucky and suffer from severe sickness and mobility issues. God has been faithful. Every prayerful step of this journey has come into fruition and I have no one to thank but God.

Although great, it has been emotionally draining. Here I was, a young professional starting my career and on the contrary spending all of my waking moments and finances trying to combat this disease while trying to determine the cause in order to receive proper treatment. I’ve done all of this while working full time pouring into my students and families to ensure that their needs were met. Those of you who know me know that literacy, education, and equity are some of the values that I strive for. My mission statement in life was and is to ensure that my student’s zip code does not determine their level of success. Through my pain I persevered to ensure that my students received the best support and speech therapy that I could offer in my fractured state. I have done all of this in silence bearing the weight of my illness like a cross while participating in my school community to ensure that my students felt loved, welcomed, and cared for. These past two years have been incredibly difficult but worth it.

However, after a year of testing, receiving a second opinion, and multiple tests and procedures, a biopsy was performed in August 2022. Unfortunately the biopsy revealed that I have irreversible damage to my kidneys. The small capillaries in my kidneys, known as glomeruli, have atrophied or have been eaten away and there is scarring present. I am in need of a kidney transplant to save my life. The thing no one tells you about living with a chronic hidden illness that is progressive like kidney disease is that your whole world stops. Even though I appear healthy, I am actually chronically sick and at times it feels isolating. You start to see the world in a finite stage, wondering when the end will be, wondering if you will conquer the disease or will it eventually conquer you. In spite of my diagnosis, I am still working full time and continuing to provide support to my students and my school community until I can no longer physically do so.

As with many major medical procedures, transplant may be financially crippling and costly. A kidney transplant is estimated to be over $400,000 which includes admission, anesthesia, and other expenses. For this reason, my family and I are asking for any donations as we prepare for the transplant procedure. The funds donated will go directly towards my co-pay and after care. After care includes the medications and immunosuppressants needed to prevent my body from rejecting the kidney, transportation to and from the transplant center and post-op doctor appointments, aftercare needs as I will not be able to care for myself and will be completely dependent on a caretaker/family member for the first few months after transplant, loss of wages, everyday necessities, and medical bills. We appreciate all gifts and donations to cover even a fraction of the cost. Thank you all for supporting me, praying for/with me, loving on me, and standing with me in the singular most difficult time of my life.