Support Lacey's Urgent Kidney Transplant Journey

Hi folks,

My name is Lacey and I am a proudly Deaf and Disabled creative living in Los Angeles.

As many of you are now aware, I have Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease, and am in need of a kidney transplant by a donor with O blood type as soon as possible.

I was diagnosed with FSGS, basically scarring on the kidney, at age 24, and have been under the care of nephrologists since. The disease has been quickly progressing, with it going from Stage 1 to Stage 5 over the course of six and a half years. There was no specific cause of my disease, just another mystery in this wild body I have.

As many of you also know, I come from a family and upbringing that was never financially secure, and money was always a huge stress. I have worked hard to stay out of debt as an adult, and it is my hope that this medical journey will not be the cause of extreme financial strain or debt. While I do have insurance, I have been told to raise funds for the expenses that will come along with this surgery, including medications, hospital stay, many doctor appointments, a paid caregiver, and living expenses for three months following the surgery when I will not be allowed to work.

My transplant team and nephrologists are very optimistic about my outcome with this transplant. I have made them all proud by very closely following doctor's orders throughout the duration of my treatment and by losing 70 pounds. I remain as active as possible with regular boxing classes, swimming, yoga, strength training, and hiking.

Despite doing everything the right way, my health is still declining and I am often experiencing intense fatigue and brain fog, and do not feel like my vibrant, joyful self a lot of the time. My doctors are confident I will get my energy back and be able to get back to all my passions of traveling around the world, performing comedy and storytelling, and being an active member of all the wonderful communities I've joined in Los Angeles and beyond.

I also recently found out I have the O negative blood type, meaning I can only receive a kidney from a person with O blood type. Due to my young age (30) it is my doctor's hope that we can find a living donor. If you have any leads for potential donors with O blood type, a BMI of under 30, and relatively good health, please contact me so they can be evaluated with my team for potential donation. They would ideally be located in or near Los Angeles, as that is where I will need to have the surgery with my team.

I never thought I would be so public about this medical journey, for fear of judgement or pity, but I know my life is worth more than any of that, and I am trying to really lean onto my communities for the support I need. I hope I also inspire others with chronic illness to not suffer in silence and reach out for they help they need as well.

I have been feeling so much love and support from my LA community, community back on the East Coast, and around the globe. Thank y'all for sharing my search for a donor so far, and please continue sharing that along with this fundraiser in hopes that I will find a donor and be able to afford this surgery and recovery time without going into tremendous debt or stress.

I want to get back to being the ray of sunshine Lacey that I'm meant to be, sharing my comedic stories and connecting with the world.

Thank you for reading all of this!

-Lacey