I was first diagnosed with Lupus when I was about 25 years old. My journey had been fairly uneventful until I got pregnant and gave birth to my now 10 year old daughter at 27 weeks. She weighed just 2.4 lbs. When she was about 4 years old, I had a brain bleed due to hypertension and from that point on my kidneys were detrimentally affected.
I have been on the organ transplant waiting list for approximately 2 years. There are times when this process is more difficult than others because I live a very busy lifestyle, especially with all of my daughter’s activities. My family is always on the go with school, soccer and gymnastics. The one thing I miss is going to the pool with my daughter. I have a dialysis catheter and in order for me to reduce infection I was advised not to swim. I also miss just going to bed without being tethered to a machine all night.
I am grateful for this life sustaining treatment and as a person I have grown more resilient. I know once I get through this time in my life, I will look back at the experience, which has made me stronger, and appreciate life that much more.
