Mom needs a Kidney - Jillene Schnitzer
Hi. My name is Jillene Schnitzer, and I need a kidney.
*** My blood type is A+. I can receive a kidney from someone with blood types A -, A +, O – and O +.***
Allow me to tell you a little about myself and my family. I am 45 years old and a mother to 2 boys. My blood type is A+. When I was three, I endured a vicious bout with Strep, which went to my kidneys and caused me to have focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). FSGS is a rare disease that affects the kidneys. In particular, FSGS scars parts of the filters in the kidney, which are called glomeruli. An easier way to say it is:
Focal = some
Segmental = sections
Glomerulo = of kidney filters
Sclerosis = are scarred
I was in remission until a year after I had my second child. At the age of 32, my disease began to worsen. The scarring was destroying more and more areas of my kidneys. By May 2012, the scarring had rendered my kidneys useless and unable to function, and I had to begin life on dialysis.
Life on dialysis is crazy hard on any family – especially my family. My family is always on the go, and my disease always puts a big anchor on most everything we do. Living on dialysis is so hard on my body. I feel exhausted most of the time. I try to get my rest while my kids are in school so I can be ready to go when they arrive home. My family keeps me on my toes!
I have two amazing boys. My oldest son, Kyle, is 14. He is a part of many activities and keeps us running around everywhere. He is involved in everything from Hockey, key club, chorus and a Boy Scout with goals to become an Eagle Scout. Oh, and let me not forget that he’s already succeeded at being taller than me.
My youngest son, Kevin, is my creative 13 year old who loves drawing and painting. Like his older brother, Kevin also is extremely active. From defending the goal for his soccer team, the Dragons, to playing the baritone saxophone in his school's band, he stays busy! He also hopes to become an Eagle Scout.
So you can see I am on the run all the time. That is, until I have a bad day and everything just stops.
I hate putting a wrench in their lives. I want to keep up with them. I would love to take them on a nice vacation and not disappear every other day to do dialysis. It is emotionally hard to know that I am missing out on half of my children’s lives. I would love to be the Mom that my kids have a hard time keeping up with instead of them waiting up for me. I want to worry about my kids and not my kids always worrying about me. It is a life that I wouldn't wish on anyone, but it is the life I have. The only thing that would change my life that revolves around dialysis is for me to receive a kidney transplant. I am thankful that I am still here to see my kids grow. I also hope to see each of them go on to college, get married and have their own families. I know that is every parent's dream, and I am not different. My dream is to be the perfect loving parent for my boys and to live long enough to do just that.
If you would like to be tested as a match to donate one of your kidneys to me and save my life, please call Emory at 1-855-366-7989. Tell them you would like to be tested as a living donor for me, Jillene Schnitzer (DOB 5/1/69). To any person who will be so generous as to make the call, I offer you my most heartfelt Thank You!