RECENTLY DROPPED OFF UCD’S LIST AS OF SEPT 2018, LOOKING FOR NEW CENTER TO TAKE ON MY CASE.
I was recently removed from UC Davis Transplant Center and now actively looking for other options and my next gift of life. After fighting kidney failure for 13 years, the many procedures, a kidney transplant, fighting valley fever had brought much frailty to my condition has made me lose important muscle mass and all my body systems are starting to be effected.
My kidney specialist who has overseen me through most of my kidney disease is optimistic about what another gift of life/ kidney transplant could change a lot of the frailty issues that I’m having. Where I would have the necessary balance to build up muscle mass again and get my whole body systems back in shape and working in unity.
It’s very hard to ask for a gift of life and as I’ve had a living donation I came to find it’s also very hard to lose and made me very hesitant in this process. What I learned very quickly is that live donors are just amazing heroes and as my live donor told me when I told her my kidney transplant was failing, “I’d give you my other kidney if I could.” This only made me realize how amazing the gift of life is regardless of the how long it lasted. It will always be a bridge to my next miracle.
Now as I see my health failing I know what I need to do. This is just not about me. It’s about my family. The husband that has sacrificed so much to take care of me and help keep me alive as my full-time caretaker and my boys that had to endure the ups and downs of having a mom that is surviving off life-sustaining dialysis for most of their lives.
This site will be dedicated to my search for a new donor as well as documenting this new journey preparing for my next gift of life. I have compiled most of the older blogs written into an eBook that I hope can empower those walking through similar situations. This journey started at 25 years old just a little over 12 years ago and haven’t stopped sharing since.
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Maribel's Kidney Story 