A KT for Kitty (Road to Kidney Transplant and healing)

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Hi, everyone!

I am Katherine Gretch Cabotaje. I am also called Kat, Kitkat, and Kitty.

I know it has been a rough time for all of us since the pandemic. I also would like to thank the people who helped me all these years for my treatment. But I am asking for your help again: this time, it is for my kidney transplant journey to healing.

I am a 14-year-old dialysis patient. I was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5 (End-stage) Glomerulonephritis (gloe-MER-u-loe-nuh-FRY-tis) last December 18, 2008. I was 23 years old then. I am not familiar with the process of kidney transplant in social services. I have no donor and have no idea how to raise funds. And to be honest, HOPE was lost.

I was working then in a hotel here in Manila when I was diagnosed. Prior to that, I’ve always had recurring UTI (Urinary Tract Infection). The doctors then would just give me antibiotics. My blood pressure also shot up to 180/90 every single day; they thought that I was just stressed at work. Unfortunately, one day, I really could not breathe properly anymore and anything I ate, I wanted to vomit. Turns out, the creatinine in my blood is already too high–up to 800. Though I was rushed to the emergency room, I didn’t think that it would be serious. But the day of December 18, 2008 changed my life. Feeling so low, maybe numb, maybe hopeless, I just cried and prayed, thinking that this would be forever. They put a catheter on my neck for my emergency dialysis access.

I tried to live my life as normal as it could get, even though I knew the situation I was in would continue until the day I die. Over the years, I’ve developed issues with my hemodialysis access in both of my arms. I underwent plenty of surgeries, but I still need one to take out the big vein in my left arm (which is inflamed every single time it is bumped). Apart from the steep cost, that surgery poses a lot of risks. My current access on my right arm is causing a bit of a problem too because of stenosis.

(update: thank you to everyone who sent their help during my major surgery, and the scraping of my left av fistula. It cost Php 220,000, thank you! Pictures included, I feel very well right now with my new access too, thank you from the bottom of my heart).

I’ve been praying for what could happen to my future. Thank God I was enlightened by the social worker in a public hospital here in the Philippines. After a very long time (literally took me 14 years), I was asked to provide certain show money for my kidney transplant laboratories to take place.

Now, I am asking for your prayers and help again, but this time it is to get ready for my kidney transplant process. I know this is just the start, but nothing will happen if I do not take the first step. Am I scared? Yes, I am! But, I also believe Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a HOPE and a FUTURE.”

A lot of people see me smiling and happy, but deep down I am also tired of the pain and I just want to rest from dialysis. I believe that having a kidney transplant is the answer to that. I did not wish for this at first and accepted my dialysis fate, but now, I am ready in my mind and body for this to happen.

I would like to ask you guys if you have any extra money to spare, it would mean so much to me and I will forever be indebted to your kindness.

Donations can be sent through the following channels:

Katherine Gretch A. Cabotaje

BPI: 2029111122

BDO: 004690149111

Gcash: 09773055703

UnionBank: 109324038845

Paypal: [email protected]

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