Support Laura Steele's Kidney Transplant Journey

My name is Laura Steele and I am trying to raise funds for medical expenses due to Kidney Failure and the need for a Kidney Transplant. While I do have insurance, prescriptions not covered and all expenses needed to travel for transplant are not covered by insurance.

My Story

First and foremost, I want people to know that my needing a kidney has no relation to how I have lived my life. I am not diabetic, I have not used illicit drugs or alcohol to ruin my kidney. I have worked as a middle school teacher for over 18 years and lived a pretty normal lifestyle with kids and family. I have two wonderful children, Logan and Taylor, both have graduated college and have professional careers. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease after the premature birth of my son Logan. Logan was born at 27 weeks when suddenly my body went into preeclampsia.

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder that causes fluid-filled cysts to grow in the kidneys. These cysts can also appear in other organs, like the liver. PKD is a type of chronic kidney disease that can lead to kidney failure. After some blood work and a CT scan, I was sent to a kidney specialist and remained under his treatment for over 25 years.

The kidney specialist watched my blood pressure, and I was told there was nothing I could do about it. It is at this point I found out no one in my family had this genetic disease. I apparently developed what is known as a spontaneous case.

In 2019, after my daughter graduated high school, I took a job in Virginia to be closer to my best friend and help her with raising her grandchildren. I loved my new job. I was a middle school teacher for 6-8 grade at an alternative center in Stafford, Virginia. It was a self-contained classroom where I not only taught Science, English, Math, and Social Studies, but I also worked with my co-teacher to create a restorative environment to help soothe some of the trauma these kids had experienced. I would probably still be there today had my health not taken a turn for the worse. My kidneys started not filtering, and my kidney function plummeted significantly. With almost continuous bouts of gout and hospital visits, once COVID and the lockdown hit, I moved back to Oklahoma to be closer to my parents and my children.

Upon returning to Oklahoma, I contacted a different kidney doctor in hopes of getting me on a normalizing track. We implemented a care plan that included trying to find a kidney donor before needing dialysis.

Unfortunately, my search was not fruitful, and no one in my immediate family is a match. I have since been placed on dialysis and am desperately trying to find a living donor. I have been receiving dialysis for almost 3 years now.

I currently work for a fraternity at Oklahoma State University and live in Stillwater, where I receive in-center dialysis three times a week.