Ashley Quinones has climbed this mountain before.
Born with Cystic Fibrosis, Ashley was 20 when she underwent a life-saving double lung transplant in 2001. The medications she took to keep her lungs healthy put a strain on her kidneys, which began to fail eight years after her surgery. In November 2011, she was the subject of a Huffington Post piece called The Butterfly Effect: Making a Difference, One Life at a Time, and in 2012, she received a kidney transplant from her friend.
After three-plus years of relatively good health, Ashley developed an allergic reaction to her medication, causing her body to attack her new kidney. She is again in renal failure, and, as she writes, “Time is running out.”
On Wednesday, Ashley wrote a blog post on her website, KidneyCutie.com, titled, “The Truth Hurts.” It begins:
There have been some things I haven’t been ready to write about. I needed to be able to talk about them with people first before I committed them to something as permanent as the written word. Here is the truth: My health is much worse than I thought or, rather, than I have allowed myself to believe. My kidney is only functioning at 13 percent. I rarely pee. I will not make it long enough to wait 3-5 years for a cadaver donor. A living donor transplant is my ONLY option to survive. In the meantime, I am forced to face the most terrifying aspect of my immediate future.
Her post has already been shared by hundreds on Facebook, and, as she states, time is running out. Those interested in learning more about kidney donation can visit the National Kidney Foundation’s Q&A site, which goes over the risks and effects of making a living donation.
Wonderful child. Have always thought she was so brave the way she attacked life rather that sitting back and complaining about the hand that life had dealt her. I hope she get the transplant she needs. She is certainly the type of person who deserves this chance at a normal life.
LOVE ALL OF YOU