Carrie Dunnett

The holidays are meant to be about family. They can be stressful, of course, and busy; but all of that hard work pays off, whether you’re finalizing decorations and dinner plans the week before, or fitting last-minute gifts and travel arrangements into the hectic month between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve. And throughout the year, as well, when we’re working to provide for our families, to maintain a loving and comfortable home, and to nourish the foundations of our relationships and raise our children–these all culminate at year’s end, when we can finally take a break from our hectic schedules and focus on what matters. On family. On friends, on loved ones; on everything we’ve worked so hard for, and everything we cherish.

But two years ago, the week of Christmas 2020, I was told my kidneys were failing. Instead of relaxing with my family, we were making arrangements for dialysis.

My name is Nicole Albert, and I have polycystic kidney disease. But this is not my story, and this is not my GoFundMe. Before I go into detail about the true hero of what eventually became my happy ending, I want you to understand what I was going through, and what this disease meant for me and my family.

The following January, I had a PD port implanted into my stomach for ongoing dialysis. This is a process that I had to undergo for nine hours every night until my eventual nephrectomy–kidney removal–and subsequent donor transplant. During home dialysis, I was pretty much chained to the machine. I had to be hooked up every night early enough that the process would be complete in time for me to get the boys ready for school, and with the half-hour setup and disconnect, this was a solid ten hours that I was essentially unavailable. God forbid there had been an emergency; not only was I completely vulnerable, but I would not have been able to assist my children in any way.

The risk of infection was also extremely high. My room had to be as clean as possible. This was every night for me while waiting for a new kidney. And the rest of the time, I also faced many restrictions: an extremely limited diet, the inability to lift more than 20 pounds. I couldn’t swim or take a bath; I could only shower, and everything had to be wiped down with a bleach solution to reduce the risk of infection. It was a very difficult period of my life.

I registered with UNOS for Deceased Donors, where wait times can range from five to seven years, despite the fact that our insurance only covers dialysis for 30 months. Without insurance, dialysis can cost up to $72,000 per year, and without dialysis, I would die.

My husband, Mike, also enrolled in a kidney exchange program through Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was not a direct match for me, but the exchange program aims to connect incompatible donation pairs. Due to the highly variable nature of compatibility, we were not able to find a cross match, though we were close many times. It was extremely disheartening to be told, time and time again, that a match had been found, only for a final blood test or a change in the donor’s circumstances to delay the procedure once more. This happened on many occasions, and after two years of searching, my time was running out.

This is where Carrie Dunnet, my cousin–and one of the most selfless, giving people that I have the privilege of knowing–comes in. Carrie is a substitute teacher. Even though her assignments are short-term, she provides so much support for her students; her youthful energy makes her approachable and open, and many kids have confided in her and relied on her guidance over the years. Additionally, the flexibility of her job allows her to more easily contribute to the daily care of her nephew, and her niece who has special needs.

However, Carrie is not compensated for medical time off. The recovery period for donating a kidney can last up to six weeks or more, but she chose to begin the screening process anyway, fully aware that she would not earn any income during that time.

During the rigorous donor medical testing, a tumor was found and biopsied. It was not a comfortable experience for her, but she continued with the process regardless–and ended up being a match for the Kidney Exchange Program. This means that she provided the gift of life not only for myself, by proxy, but also for another individual who would not have survived without her selfless donation.

So now, over two years after my kidneys shut down, my cousin and I are both recovering from the procedure that saved my life. My family will finally regain some semblance of normalcy. But Carrie is still struggling. There are strict laws that prohibit monetarily compensating an organ donor. Even though our insurance covered her medical expenses as an extension of my own treatment, we are not lawfully able to provide any financial assistance to offset her recovery time away from work.

To all of my friends and family who have followed my journey and offered so much support and encouragement over the last two years, I would ask you to extend that support one more time–not to me, but to my cousin Carrie, who has sacrificed so much so that I could live out the rest of my life. I will forever be in her debt. It is my hope that we can raise enough money with this GoFundMe page to at least cover her missed wages.

Carrie’s recovery process has not been smooth. She was hospitalized on March 23rd, and at the time of writing this, she still has not been released. I’ll provide updates as I’m able to.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Every little bit helps.

Carrie saved my life.