Ryeleigh’s Kidney Transplant

In November of 2018, we received the phone call that would change our lives forever; our granddaughters had been placed in foster care. Raven was 2 at the time and Ryeleigh and Rayleigh, who are twins, only 3 months old. Ryeleigh was born with bilateral kidney dysplasia. In just the first two months of the twins’ lives they had suffered broken bones; broken ribs, fractures in their legs, and a broken arm. Ryeleigh was so malnourished that she coded twice. They were put in foster care for a total of 10 months, and had once again found themselves in an unsafe environment. Ryeleigh was abused by her foster family in multiple ways. Her speech, eating, and physical abilities were deliberately delayed by her foster mother for attention. The girls had sores on their arms and legs from flea bites, Ryeleigh had an unnecessary procedure done to give her a feeding tube which severely delayed her ability to eat properly or keep food down, amongst other things. In august of 2019 we were finally awarded grandparentship and able to give them the safe and loving environment they have always deserved. In November of that year their father gave up all of his parental rights. We fought with all we had for the next four years and finally in March of 2023 their mother gave up her rights as well. Now that adoption is right within our grasp we can move forward with kidney transplant for Ryeleigh. Currently as I’m writing this Ryeleigh’s kidney function is sitting at 18 percent, and if it dips below that before transplant she will be put on dialysis. Ryeleigh has fought with all she’s had for her whole life to stay here. God has always been our guidance and will continue to be, and we are ready for the challenges ahead. Unfortunately my husband will not be able to work during and after transplant, and I am on disability and stay at home full time taking care of our girls. An anonymous donor line has been set up for ryeleigh at 1-888-894-6361 If you would like to help, you can donate to help with living costs during/after transplant, or even just share this post. Anything and everything helps, thank you for listening to our story.