Kidney Donor and Transplant – Support Jenny Ishii

I was pregnant with my first child, a son. Needless to say my husband and I were ecstatic, expecting parents. We started preparing for our first newborn. Fast forward 4 months into the pregnancy, and I experienced pre-eclampsia. I felt uncomfortable one day in my office at work, went home early, called my OBGYN, and was able to get an appointment for the next day. I went in for, what I thought would be a regular checkup. The first routine check was my blood pressure. The nurse took my blood pressure. Then she had a machine measure my blood pressure. Not convinced, she had a another nurse re-check my blood pressure, She whispered something to my doctor and he said to me, "You have to go to the hospital. I'll meet you there." For the first time in my life, I rode an ambulance to the hospital. Another doctor came in, did an ultrasound and said to me, "we have to abort the pregnancy or your life will be in danger," It was April of 2016, I was 30 years old, and diagnosed with Lupus Nephritis, This was completely unexpected as I have been healthy my whole life. I barely even ever took Tylenol. The Lupus destroyed both of my kidneys. By the time I found out, my kidneys were already functioning at a mere 10% of a fully functioning kidney. It was a shock to me and my family. I thought in that minute that that was the worst day of my life, but later found out that the next day would be even harder and even worse. My husband and I made the only decision that we could make, we aborted the pregnancy. The doctors had already told us that our baby was to little, at four months, to save. If they could save the baby they would, but they simply did not have tools small enough to even try.

The next day was hard. Easily the worst day of mine and my husband's life. I was scheduled for an 8am surgery to abort the baby. We both hugged each other, cried, then I was wheeled in for surgery. The following months were not easy. When I left the hospital, I was so weak, to the point where I could barely walk because of the high dosage of Prednisone I was on. A week after I left the hospital, my husband and I had to prepare for a funeral our unborn son. Me and my husband sat there, in front of my grandma and mother, as the mortician went through the binder of caskets. Both of us nearly broke down when she asked us if we wanted to include toys in the casket. Easily the second worse day of my life.

Fast forward a few months, I'm faced with the decision to start dialysis. We were hopeful that my kidneys would get better with medication, but they didn't. If anything, their function further declined. I chose to start Peritoneal Dialysis, Peritoneal Dyalysis would allow me the comfort of dialysis in my own home and avoid attending a dialysis center 3 or 4 times a week for 5 hours at time. I went back to work on a part-time basis as I awaited transplant. A few months passed and I found one day, that my dialysis bag was cloudy. I immediately called my dialysis nurse and went in for a visit. I was admitted to the hospital and found out that I had active Tuberculosis (TB). I started treatment for TB. The medications are rough on you. I didn't have any of the normal symptoms of TB like the cough or flem, but I did lose a ton of weight. I was down to skin and bones of 80 pounds at one point.

Treatment lasted a whole year, starting in January of 2017. In addition to the TB medications, I was on a whole host of drugs for my kidneys too. I started having hallucinations at night, and was rushed to the ER a few times. In February, I experienced a stroke. That was scary, According to my husband, I didn't recognize him or any of my family members and I barely spoke. He was scared that I might never recover at that point. My brother visited me in the hospital and came home in tears. He was was scared too.

Fast forward to 2018, and I'm doing much better. My nutrition is not where it used to be and my muscle strength in my legs are still extremely weak. I'm still wheeling around in a wheelchair and use a walker if I need to walk short distances, I've been working on my nutrition and with physical therapy to rebuild my strength. I'm now back up to 110 pounds and feeling better than I have been the last year and a half. I’m still on Peritoneal Dialysis. I'll be meeting with the transplant doctor and team again next month for a re-evaluation. I hope to walk again by April of this year. I'm confident I'll get there.

I set up this website to seek anyone who would like to consider being a kidney donor and/or help fund a kidney transplant for me. The cost for a kidney transplant will far exceed what insurance covers, not to mention the anti-rejection drugs that need to be taken after transplant to ensure that the transplanted kidney continues to function. I am grateful for your donation, but most importantly for your love and support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Please know that your donation is going towards saving a life,

If you would like to consider being a kidney donor, please email me at [email protected]. Thank you.

For more information about being a kidney donor, please visit: https://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingdonor…

I plan to undergo the kidney transplant at Mass General Hospital, a pioneer in organ transplants and a leading transplant center. To learn more about their Kidney Transplant Program, Surgeons, and Transplant Team, please visit: http://www.massgeneral.org/transplant/services/adu...