All I want for Christmas is a Kidney

I need a kidney donor.

My name is Deco Carter, formally known as HipHopLyft , one of the pioneering rideshare car drivers in San Francisco. I stopped driving a few years ago when I began taking care of my daughter who has severe autism and requires 24/7 supervision. I learned my kidneys were failing in 2017 when I was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease. In 2021 I learned my kidneys were functioning at 12%. My doctor told me it was time to look for a kidney donor and prepare to begin dialysis.

My good friend, Matt aka @DiscoLyft (who I met when I started driving for Lyft) stepped up to the plate to donate his kidney. He knows I have a family to raise and that I am the main caregiver for my daughter who requires a lot of support. Unfortunately, the kidney center rejected him as a donor. This news was a huge blow and threw me into a deeper state of depression.

By May of 2022, my kidneys had reached 7% function. In August I had minor surgery to place a catheter in my stomach to begin peritoneal dialysis. Life after surgery was rough. I was in pain, uncomfortable, and at the forefront of major life transitions. I had to get used to living with this tube coming from my stomach, I was in pain, I can't lift my daughter, and I had to stop riding my bike every day which was helping me cope with my depression.

Now I am in training to learn how to give myself dialysis treatments. I will have to do these treatments daily, 2 to 3 times a day until I can get a kidney transplant. There are certain things I won't be able to do anymore because I have to protect my catheter from getting bacteria. This whole thing is not just taking a toll on me mentally and physically but my family too.

I have a young daughter who loves her daddy, and a son who needs his father. I am not ready to leave them yet. I created this GoFundMe to bring awareness to my need for a kidney donor and transplant and to raise money to cover our needs.

Please help me find a kidney donor. Please help me be here for my family, especially, my daughter, Angelina. Having a child with special needs comes with many challenges and I don't want to leave her mother to do this on her own.

A video of me and my daughter