Help Kira's family with transplant expenses

Kira Morrissette's life has been a difficult one.

Kira's troubles began at age 10, with what seemed to be a strange rash. The rash was a symptom of Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (HSP, also known as (IgA) vasculitis), a disease that causes inflammation and leakage of the small blood vessels. Usually HSP goes away on its own with no long-term effects. However, rarely HSP can cause serious kidney disease. Unfortunately, this was the case for Kira.

The seriousness of Kira's condition became obvious after Kira experienced terrifying seizures. After that, Kira's life became an endless succession of medical procedures as her kidney function continued to decline. Throughout her adolescence Kira has undergone innumerable tests and procedures, including countless trips to the Saskatoon pediatric hospital. If you're familiar with the Beads of Courage program, Kira's string of beads is several feet long.

Kira's condition has impacted every part of her life. As Kira's condition advanced, she has had to undergo regular diaylsis sessions. She basically graduated high school from the hospital with the help of a tutor. When she has been lucky enough to travel away from home, it has to be scheduled around dialysis sessions or to places where dialysis can occur. In addition to all the time spent in dialysis, Kira's condition leads to serious fatigue, depleting the quality of life for her even when she's not undergoing treatment. And that's when everything is working as it should - Kira has had numerous difficulties and complications, including hemodialysis access failure and a serious brush with sepsis where we came the closest we've ever been to losing Kira altogether.

In spite of all of these challenges, Kira has worked hard to have a normal life. She is working toward a nursing degree so she can use her experience of the medical system to treat patients with compassion. She has a job and a social life. She has been a tireless advocate for patients experiencing kidney failure, speaking at kidney health conferences and serving on the patient advocacy committee, as well as being heavily involved in fundraising for kidney research.

The number one thing that would turn Kira's life around is a kidney transplant. Despite the fact that Kira is a young person who lost her entire adolescence to kidney disease, she has encountered roadblock after roadblock on the road to a transplant, including unsympathetic medial professionals with unreasonable expectations, byzantine bureaucracy, and more.

Hope is in sight, though. Through incredible perseverance Kira has found a transplant specialist who has committed to finding a kidney for Kira and performing a laproscopic surgery via robot. The specialist will even be advocating for a living donor transplant, which is a best case scenario for Kira's situation.

This is where we are asking for assistance to help get Kira over the finish line. Kira's specialist is located in Edmonton, which will necessitate a lot travel from Regina. Additionally, Kira's greatest support throughout her entire medical journey has been her mother, Allison Parr. Kira will need her mother with her as she goes through this process in Edmonton, doubling expenses for travel and accommodation. On top of that, Allison is a teacher, and all the travel for the transplant process will mean missed work, necessitating cost of sub and eventually unpaid absences. Just the trip for the initial meeting with the specialist cost over $1,200, and we expect there will be several more, and longer, trips throughout the process.

We are inviting our community to support Kira's family with any donations you are able to provide, to reduce the financial burden, so Kira and her family can focus more on a successful transplant and recovery. This process has been a long, difficult, and awfully lonely one, so we are grateful for any support you are able to provide.

Thank you for taking the time to read, and thank you for considering a donation to Help Kira's family with transplant expenses.