SPARTA, Mich. -- The wait for an organ transplant can be excruciating, whether the wait is for a heart donor or, in one little girl's case, a kidney.
About a year ago, a rare disease caused Lyndi Hollinger's kidneys to fail. FOX 17 first brought you her story in the fall of 2015 and now she's in need of help once again.
Despite being on the kidney transplant waiting list, the Lyndi Hollinger has had no luck.
Lyndi Hollinger, in need of a kidney
Tressa Hollinger, Lyndi's mom, says they've tried everything. They are now turning now to social media and TV in the hope that someone can help.
Walking into Lyndi's room, the first thing we noticed was her large dialysis machine. In her closet, where we expected to find clothes, we saw boxes tightly packed with medical supplies, carefully placed along the wall. Tressa says the boxes are filled with dialysis solution, masks, gloves, and everything else needed for Lyndi's nightly routine. That's because 8-year-old Lyndi is on dialysis every night for 10 hours straight.
Instead of baking or swimming or performing ballet, she is hooked to a machine.
"She can’t do your typical sleepover like most girls are doing," Tressa said. "It’s tough. It’s not what you want as a parent."
Lyndi was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis before she was two years old. It's a rare disease that attacks the kidneys' filtering units, eventually causing scarring. "It’s similar to a coffee filter," Tressa said. "If you poke too many holes into it, the grounds are going to come through, and that’s what her filters do."
In 2014, that FSGS caused Lyndi's kidneys to fail.
Diagram explaining FSGS
"We had a lot of stays in the hospital," Tressa said.
Since then, Lyndi has been searching for her kidney hero, someone with O type blood to donate a kidney to her.
I asked Lyndi how badly she wanted to find a kidney match. "Um, really bad," she said shyly.
Once she gets that kidney, Lyndi can go back to being your average 8-year-old girl.
"If you can do it, you’re saving someone’s life, and you’re changing their life," Tressa said.
If you have O type blood and are interested in donating your kidney, feel free to contact Lyndi's Facebook page at Lyndi's New Kidney Journey. You can also call Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, or reach out to FOX 17.
And you can also help raising money to fight FSGS by attending the Nephcure Walk around Millennium Park October 2.
