"Kay" Lyman on my kidney transplant journey.
Donation protected
This is hard for me to do because people that know me know I'm always helping others but I don't ask for help. My name is Kwamo but I go by "Kay" to friends and family. I'm 38 years young (lol) with two kids (ages 9 and 5). I'm married to a Marine Veteran for the past 12 years. For the past 26 years I have struggled with having diabetes. My family have suffered multiple miscarriages between having our two children before my last pregnancy when everything went down hill faster than Jack and Jill. My pregnancy brought on high blood pressure, blindness, and gastroparesis. Due to the hyperemmesis I suffered the entire 6 months of my pregnancy I developed gastroparesis (definition here) and a retna detachment of my left eye. With all of this my son was born a micro-premie at 1 lbs 9oz a week shy of 6 months. Within 3 months of his birth, I woke up fully blind. Diagnosed with dual retina detachments and hemorrhage in both eyes. My right eye was saved after many surgical procedures but my left eye was too far gone to save. I then had many visits to ER's for vomiting and dehydration but no one knew the cause. It took my husband doing his own research after watching me face death each day with no answers from doctors. Over the course of 2 months I lost over 40 pounds. Over the course of 6 months filled with frustration and depression I went from a healthy 175lbs to 125lbs. Keep in mind I'm 5'9"(yes I'm tall but not a super model lol). My family moved from California to South Carolina to be closer to family incase they would have to say their final goodbyes. With all of this I suffered multiple AKI (acute kidney injury) which leads me to where I am today asking for help. My kidney didn't recover after my last hospitalization which landed me on dialysis. Within the last 5 years my husband had to work to keep us a float but due to my new diagnosis he had to quit working to become my care giver and take care of our children. My medical bills have been piling up because we can no longer afford to pay them along with our other bills. Plus, raising two small children with their day to day expenses haven't been easy. I live with the guilt of my family struggling because of my illness. Each day I feel if I'm not here they would be happier. This quickly goes away when my kids say "mommy I love you, I hope you feel good to cook today". Even if I feel like I'm going to pass out I still cook. I don't want them to feel the need to take care of me at this age (9 and 5 yo). Right now I'm waiting to get back on a transplant list in hopes to live until they can take care of themselves. With out a transplant I'm stuck on dialysis where I'm away from my kids, my kids out of regular school, and my husband out of work. Please help how you can. If you can't donate please share this link on your social media platforms. I greatly appreciate all the help possible. Thank you all!
Fundraising team (3)
Kwamo Lyman
Organizer
Boiling Springs, SC
Joann Klein
Team member
William Lyman
Team member