Thalia Matos

My father has faced serious health challenges for most of his life, many of which he chose to keep private. He lives with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and in 2008 he underwent open-heart surgery—just four months after my mother had brain surgery for an aneurysm, which left her with short-term memory loss. Despite everything, my dad committed himself to doing everything in his power to provide a comfortable life for me and my six siblings. He has been working since he was just 9 years old. He was born with only one kidney, and in 2023 he was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney cancer in that same kidney. After three separate surgeries to remove the tumor, he has been in remission for 2.5 years, but the procedures placed extreme strain on his kidney. Today, my father is living with stage 4 kidney failure and is currently on the transplant list. In February 2024, complications from kidney failure led to heart failure. His medical team was able to postpone dialysis for some time because he was doing so well—until September, when he visited me in Georgia and we experienced a terrifying medical emergency. His potassium levels skyrocketed, his oxygen dropped below 87%, and his heart failure worsened. He was immediately hospitalized and placed on dialysis. We spent two weeks in the hospital, followed by eight weeks where he stayed with me while I cared for him before he was able to return home to Rhode Island. He is now stable and doing well on dialysis, but he has been unable to work since his cancer diagnosis. This has been incredibly difficult for him, both financially and emotionally, as working has always been a core part of who he is. My father is a proud dad to seven children and a grandfather to 10 grandchildren. He is 66 years old, full of life, endlessly funny, and still has so much more to give. While he has always been a private and prideful man, we are no longer in a position to navigate this alone. We are praying for a living kidney donor, as I am unfortunately not a match. Any support—whether through donations, sharing, prayers, or kind words—means more than we can express. Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting my father during this chapter of his life.