A Key West resident is using social media for good, rather than evil, in her search for a life-saving donor kidney.
Angelica Harris, 35, was born in the Philippines and met a U.S. serviceman who was stationed in the island nation.
The couple is now stationed in Key West. Here’s her story:
My name is Angelica Harris, a military spouse originally from Manila, Philippines.
I met my husband in the Philippines in 2012. I gave up my career, left my country for the first time ever, and moved to the United States in 2014, all in the name of love.
My husband and I married in Virginia without the presence of our families. I hope to one day renew our vows in a Catholic church and in front of family and friends.
We were stationed in Oak Harbor, Washington for three years before moving to Key West in April 2019. I was working at a resort in Key West before the pandemic. Unfortunately, due to the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, I was furloughed and eventually terminated. I have been looking for a job for seven months now. Even though this year has been challenging, I am grateful to have become a naturalized citizen of the United States and finished my master’s degree in business administration in June 2020.
Kidney disease
In February, my husband and I went to see a reproductive specialist in Miami because we wanted a child. Lab work showed that my creatinine level was at 3.14 when the normal range is 0.50-1.10 mg/dL. My levels remained high through additional blood tests.
In April, I was referred to a nephrologist, who conducted more tests. I learned my kidneys were only functioning at 16% and that I have less than five years to get on dialysis. I was diagnosed with stage 4 chronic kidney disease. A preemptive kidney transplant was recommended by my nephrologist.
In July, I completed all my kidney pre-transplant evaluation.
In August, I was approved for a kidney transplant at Cleveland Clinic Florida and have been actively listed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant waiting list. I learned from the beginning of this process that waiting for a kidney transplant donor could take up to five years.
In September, I almost had a living kidney donor. A stranger with a beautiful heart who lives in California learned about my story on Facebook. She went through all the donation processes and interviews. When I found out that we were a match, I cried tears of joy. Sadly, she was denied because of a urinary tract infection history.
I do not want to go through dialysis, and I still want to experience being a mom. To get my story out there, I have been advertising on Facebook under Kidney for Angelica and Instagram (@kidneyforangelica).
