On Friday nights, if she’s feeling as much as it, Kayla Lengthy likes to belt out her favourite karaoke tunes — perhaps Carrie Underwood’s “Earlier than He Cheats” or “Jesus Take the Wheel” — whereas her fiancé, Chris Candelora, and 4 boys, ages 13, 9, 8, and seven, cheer her on.
Kayla says it’s the one time she feels regular. “It brings me a complete lot of pleasure,” she says.
The Zephyrhills mother, who grew up in Wesley Chapel, has end-stage renal illness (ESRD), a situation the place the kidneys have completely misplaced most of their means to operate. She says it stems from years of taking an excessive amount of ibuprofen, making an attempt to handle ache after surgical procedure to appropriate extreme scoliosis when she was 14.
“My mother struggled with dependancy, so I had been adopted by my grandmother,” Kayla says. “I used to be afraid to take opiate drugs after surgical procedure, so I used ibuprofen as a substitute. However, it was an excessive stage of ache and also you simply can’t take ibuprofen for that.”
The irony, she says, is that she remains to be in ache, however now from the results of ESRD.
“I actually killed myself not taking ache drugs and there’s nothing they’ll do,” she says. “It simply will get worse and worse.” And, Kayla says, it can proceed to worsen.
That’s, except she will get a brand new kidney.
“I’ve been on dialysis for the final two years,” Kayla says, including that these two years have been stuffed with ache and setbacks.
Unable to work, her days are stuffed with touring to and from Plant Metropolis three days per week for dialysis. She’s away from residence for about six hours on these days. The opposite days, she goes to different medical appointments, if she feels as much as it.
As well as, Kayla has been legally blind since delivery, which provides to her challenges.
It’s all so much to navigate. Even on one of the best days, dialysis leaves her drained and unable to do a lot of something. “Dialysis may be very exhausting in your physique,” she says. “It will probably trigger coronary heart injury, gout and different well being problems. I’m exhausted and nauseous on a regular basis.”
She provides that she had two blood transfusions final yr, even having to depart her son’s celebration midway by way of for an emergency go to to the hospital.
She’s hoping to obtain a kidney as quickly as potential. Kayla’s been on the transplant checklist since February. If somebody passes away whose kidney is a match for hers, she could be eligible to obtain it. However even higher, she says, could be a dwelling donor.
“Transplanted kidneys final a mean of 5 to 10 years from a deceased individual,” she says, “however from a dwelling donor, the common is 20 years.”
Kayla is working with the AdventHealth Transplant Institute to discover a dwelling kidney donor. She wants a kidney from somebody with sort O blood, and says it doesn’t matter whether it is O constructive or O detrimental.
If she finds a keen donor with sort O blood, they’d go to AHLivingDonor.com to start a screening course of to see if the donor’s kidney is a possible match for Kayla.
“I’ve 4 kids,” Kayla says. “I fear on a regular basis. Am I going to depart them earlier than they’re prepared? Am I going to get to see them graduate, develop up, fall in love, play with my grandkids? Can I even develop previous and get married to the person I really like? On dialysis, that’s all up within the air.”
Kayla first met Chris on the bus to Weightman Center Faculty after they weren’t even youngsters but. “He used to experience his bike to my home and hang around with my brother and sister,” she says. “We’ve been collectively since we have been 22.”
She says being sick, blind and in persistent ache makes it so the couple can’t do a variety of issues that typical {couples} of their 30s with younger youngsters wish to do, however Chris has caught by her aspect by way of the entire trials.
“My fiancé works so exhausting to supply for all of us,” Kayla says. “If he’s not at his job, he’s doing a aspect job or engaged on our automotive or fixing one thing in the home or fixing one thing at another person’s home.”
Except it’s a Friday evening.
That’s after they take the children to Commandough’s in Zephyrhills, the place they order pizza, the children rise up and sing and dance, and Kayla will take the stage.
It’s solely then that she says she feels true pleasure.
“Everyone’s joyful,” she says. “I’m joyful. My youngsters are joyful. I don’t really feel self-conscious. I simply rise up there and sing, after which swiftly, I really feel regular for some time.”
Kayla says she is engaged on organising a belief, with authorized charges sponsored by Commandough’s, to assist present for her household so Chris can look after her full-time for a couple of months after her transplant, a vital a part of her restoration.
To comply with Kayla’s journey, seek for “KidMe in Your Prayers: Kayla’s Transplant Journey” on Fb. To start out the method to study extra about donating a kidney to Kayla or another person like her who’s on the ready checklist for a transplant, go to AHLivingDonor.com.
