GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For 25 years, Shanntel Donaldson worked as a nurse assistant.
“I never thought it would be her. I never thought it would be her,” says daughter Ron'neisha Stutts. “My mom worked every day. Since we were kids.”
Now, instead of clocking in to help take care of others, she's at the hospital three times a week to take care of herself — after being diagnosed with stage four kidney failure two weeks ago.
“We cried that whole week,” says Ron'neisha. “It was scary. It was very scary. And there, I think the main reason why we were so scared is because we literally just lost a cousin to it in 2019.”
Ron'neisha says her mom’s health took a serious decline last year after battling COVID.
“I'm going to have to do dialysis; there's no way around it,” says Shanntel. “Don't let it go to stage five where I'm just stuck.”
Joyce Williams with the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan says dialysis is one of the treatment options for kidney failure, “which basically means you are connected to a machine. And your blood runs through that machine. And the machine does the work that the kidneys would normally do in the body and cleanses your blood of all the toxins.”
The other option is a kidney transplant.
“Kidney dialysis is successful at what it does. But unfortunately, it is not a cure. People who are on kidney dialysis often have to go three times a week for several hours in order to maintain a blood level of toxins that they can actually live with,” Joyce explains. “So the best thing that you can do when you go on dialysis is at that point to start looking for a kidney donor if you are eligible for a kidney transplant.”
But in order to do that, someone needs to be willing to donate their kidney. It’s something Shanntel's children have tried to do.
“We are the same blood type near her A positive, but I'm also a type two diabetic,” says Ron'neisha. “So in the long run, I'm going to need my kidneys.”
They hope sharing their story could help save Shanntel's life, asking anyone who is willing and able in the community to consider helping them out.
Ron'neisha says, “To see … her health decline and her not being able to do the things she used to … I mean, it has hit our family pretty hard.”
Shanntel is hoping to do dialysis at home to spend more time with her children, but it’s not yet equipped for that. If you would like to see if you're an eligible donor, visit the state's website. The family has also created a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses.
