Erika taking steps toward recovery

Me (left) and Erika (right) about 12 years ago, when her illness was much less visible.

Hello, my name is Dulce Garcia. This campaign is to raise money for my cousin Erika, who is recovering from a kidney transplant she had on November 10, 2018. Although she is in pain and discomfort while she is recovering, her optimism always shines through, and her love of life is constant. She is not only one of my best friends, but also a source of inspiration for me as I struggle with my own difficulties in life.

During her recovery, she cannot work, but still has to find a way to pay for 24/7 care, and all other medical expenses, medication, Doctor visits, transportation and other things like meals,  utilities, rent etc. This illness has been constantly draining her finances for over two decades, so despite the fact that she is a very responsible and hard-working woman, the financial burden is too much for her to bear alone.

It breaks my heart to hear from her that she is struggling financially under the burden of personal and medical expenses, and so I am running this campaign to help pay for her expenses as she recovers. I do not want her to worry about anything but recovering, and I especially do not want her to have the stress of thinking about finances. Erika looks forward to getting back to work, but while she recovers, I want to help her out.

Me and my family have given and will continue to give what we can, but our own finances are not enough to pay for all her expenses. Erika has always been full of life. She is intelligent and caring and passionate, and because she is a bit older than me, she has always been my role model. The daily pain and discomfort that is caused by her condition and the difficult times it has brought to her life have never made her give up. She still loves life and is willing to fight to hold onto it. Her spirit inspires me and I cannot imagine my world without her. I am struggling with my own health and financial situation, but I feel that I have no choice but to help her however I can.

My friends and family alone cannot make this plan come true, but with the help of others we can. Please help me help her. 

I know that these campaigns are not always successful, but my family cannot afford to pay for this project without help from others. Looking at my own financial situation, I know how easy it is for people to say "I don't have enough to give, I need to take care of myself." But I have also heard stories about the kindness of strangers and the power that comes with relying on a large community of people who show their love and support for each other in whatever way they can. I am hoping, for my cousin's sake, that strangers will find a place in their heart to give to this campaign.



This is a picture of Erika receiving her dialysis treatment, prior to her transplant surgery. These treatments are exhausting, and made it difficult for Erika to hold down a job. She is very excited to recover and go back to working in good health.

Erika and I grew up together in Mexico. Both of our mothers worked hard to provide for us, so our grandmother took care of us most of the time. We were so close that she felt more like a sister than anything else, and when I moved to the US, I cried every night because I missed her so much. We would write letters to each other, and even though we were only about 10 or 11 years old, we would write pages and pages to each other. We kept in touch and as we got older we would visit each other and it would be like we had never spent a day apart. 

(A picture of Erika holding me when we were just a couple years old)

About 25 years ago, Erika was diagnosed with her condition. I'm not very familiar with scientific names, but I was told that her form of Chronic Renal Insufficiency (i.e. kidney failure) was caused by underdeveloped kidneys. The way they have explained it to me, she had the kidneys of a young girl and they could not process all the toxins in her blood like healthy adult kidneys would. When she was initially diagnosed, she looked so healthy and lively that people would have never thought she was sick in the first place.

The condition got worse and she needed dialysis every other day. The dialysis would clean her blood of toxins, but the whole process takes about 6 hours and is incredibly exhausting. Without treatments, the toxins would build up to deadly levels. Luckily, she was able to make it through this period of time, and our prayers for a kidney transplant were answered. Now she no longer needs the life-saving dialysis treatments, but her recovery won't happen overnight, and her body has to learn to work properly by itself again.

Please note: I will not be keeping any of this money for myself. These funds are to pay for Erika's expenses and recovery

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you will share this with everyone you know and that you will donate what you can.

Much love,
Dulce Garcia.