We have the good home,
now we just need the good kidney that matches it.
Meet Evelyn Comber, a mom and grandma of three, trusted friend, beloved colleague, and devoted counselor. She grew up in the foster care system and gives the world the best she has. With the resilience that comes from unshakable positivity, Evelyn became a foster care mom herself. She demonstrated compassion empathy for the LGBT children stuck in the foster care system and helped over fifty of the most vulnerable children in the foster care system in Canada find safe placement. While running a therapeutic foster home, she continued to get educated, successfully achieving her bachelor's, 3 master's, and a Ph.D. degree in counseling and psychology - some of those attained after emigrating and becoming a U.S. citizen. She continues to provide wisdom, compassion, and support, particularly to the transgender community, as a psychologist. Now she finds herself in need of a kidney, and it is time that the best comes back to Evelyn.
Check out her website, share it, get tested, and encourage your friends and family to do the same. If not for Evelyn, do it for the thousands of kids and adults who are waiting for a kidney transplant. Even if she doesn’t find a match for herself, knowing that she helped someone else find a donor helps Evelyn.
A Message from Evelyn
My name is Evelyn. I have had Type 2 diabetes for the last 3 decades (probably longer), which has led to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Over time, my CKD has gotten worse causing my kidneys not to work well enough. The challenge I am facing now is that my treatment options are limited to dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant.
Getting regular dialysis treatments will help my kidneys do their job and keep me alive for an additional 5-7 years. It may be less, or more than that, but statistically speaking that’s what I can expect. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have access to the dialysis treatments.
However, another alternative to dialysis – a transplant – would offer me the ability to live a longer, healthier, more normal life (likely 10-20 more years). A transplant would also give me more time to do the fun things I enjoy most, like spending time with family, my grandchildren, and friends. It will also allow me to continue working and being a productive member of our society.
Finding a kidney for a transplant is not easy. Just ask the 100,000+ people on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney, like me. Time is not on our side. Some wait for years; many die while waiting. The average wait time is five years or more for a kidney from a deceased donor. Yet, optimism and hope abound! For there is another option: receiving a kidney from a living donor. A living kidney donation lasts longer and has better function.
I’m trusting that you will read this missive, increase your awareness of the real need for kidneys from live people for transplant, and cause you to think about the possibility of you, or someone you know, deciding to make that life-giving option available for someone – anyone – who is currently waiting for that gift. And, because I am one of those many thousands of individuals, maybe your actions (talking about this, spreading the word, choosing to be a live donor) … maybe I will be a lucky duck too. Increasing awareness and knowledge of the live donor option greatly improves the chance of getting a transplant – and therefore increases the life expectancy and quality for the recipient.
Interested in Donating to Evelyn?
If you are interested in finding out more about donating to me specifically, please visit the sites below. I’m registered with the University of Iowa Health Care (Iowa City) and Northwestern Medicine (Chicago).
University of Iowa’s Health Care’s information here: https://uihc.org/educational-resources/information-kidney-donors
Information about their living donor transplant program here: https://uiowa.donorscreen.org/register/now
Northwestern Medicine provides info about Living Donor Organ Transplantation, what it is like to donate, who can be a donor, and benefits of being a donor here: https://www.nm.org/conditions-and-care-areas/organ-transplantation/living-donor-organ-transplantation
And for more info about donating a kidney, as well as links to other resources, go here: https://www.nm.org/conditions-and-care-areas/organ-transplantation/kidney-transplantation/donors