Health for Haley

Health for Haley Help us find Haley a kidney donor!

02/03/2025

On November 10th, Alakananda Ma received emergency surgery for a re… Haley Wilson needs your support for Help Alakananda Ma Cover Co-Pay for Emergency Surgery

I also wanted to share that I had a lovely visit yesterday from Kristian Reynolds who helped connect my to my donor Josh...
08/19/2024

I also wanted to share that I had a lovely visit yesterday from Kristian Reynolds who helped connect my to my donor Joshua Major who also was kind enough stay the night at my house last night to take me to my early morning appointment in Aurora this morning!

Josh donated his kidney on my behalf to the National Kidney Exchange (his kidney went to a woman in New Jersey) back in May. This allowed me to receive a “kidney voucher”, basically like a kidney coupon, so I could receive a kidney from an anonymous living donor from New York. The NKR is a National Registey and therefore matches donors to recipients in all 50 states.

A Lot of people don’t know that they can still donate a kidney even if their blood type isn’t the right match for their intended recipient.

Kristian donated his kidney to a guy he met at the gym back in 2017, and from there decided to start Go Save A Life, a local non-profit which helps spread awareness about living kidney donation and helps match those who need transplants to people who are interested in donating.

Now that I am starting to feel better I want to help volunteer for Go Save a Life and also hopefully help inform people about the kidney donation and the exchange process since it’s a really awesome thing!!

When Josh first heard about my situation, he didn’t think he could donate because he wasn’t the right blood type for me, but our mutual friend Jenna Herreman eventually explained to him that it was still possible via and Exchange which sparked his curiousity.

Without Josh’s donation, I likely would have stayed on dialysis 5-7 more years waiting for a kidney from the deceased donor list, and during that time my health would have declined possibly to the point of no longer being able to receive a transplant and having more long term permanent damage to my body.

The life expectancy on dialysis is only 5-10 years, and the deceased donor list is an estimated 5-7 year wait depending on your situation. Even though I am young, dialysis still took a huge toll on on whole body and even led me to getting a really scary sepsis infection last October.

If you have any interest in kidney donation I highly reccomend checking out the Go Save a Life FB page and website https://gosavealife.com which has a lot of great info and links for how to donate!

Kristian also has an active roster of local people in need of kidneys, so there’s information about that as well. Thanks so much! 🫘💗🫘💗🫘💗

Had my first post transplant clinic appointment today at UCHealth! A huge thank you to my new friend Josh Major who was ...
08/19/2024

Had my first post transplant clinic appointment today at UCHealth! A huge thank you to my new friend Josh Major who was not only kind enough to donate his kidney on my behalf back in May so I could receive a kidney from the National kidney exchange (he had only met me once before doing so), but who also was kind enough to take me to my appointment in Aurora today!

So, my blood levels are looking awesome!! My Creatinine (the toxin which they use to measure kidney function) was 0.57 today! Technically a tad low! Not a bad problem to have though. Normal is between .6–1.2. I this is the lowest I think it has ever been.

Also, my phosphorus, which I have struggled with for the past two years was so low that they actually prescribed me a phosphorus supplement to take!

For years now I have had to avoid dairy products, read every packaged food I bought to make sure it didn’t have added phosphates, and take two giant horse pill phosphorus binders with every meal which were supposed to lower my phosphorus levels in my blood, and it was still almost always high!! I can’t tell you how many times I got lectured about this by the dietitian at my dialysis center.

High phosphorus is dangerous because over time it can calcify your blood vessels and cause hyper-parathyroidism. Your kidney regulates your phosphorus levels.

My hemoglobin (which is basically what tells you whether or not you’re anemic) went from 9 to 11.8 which means it’s now almost within normal range (normal starts at 12). I have faith it will continue to improve by my next appointment on Friday and I will no longer have any anemia.

When I started Graduate school at Naropa in 2022, my Glomular Filtration Rate was 8. GFR measures how many milliliters of blood pass through your kidney per minute, and before my transplant it was still around 7 or 8 (in other words, extremely low). GFR is sometimes also equated to a rough estimate of your percentage of kidney function, though it is not exact. Now, my GFR is above 90!

This is all to say that my new kidney is working incredibly well. Like, super duper well. There are a ton of other blood tests and whatnot which also prove this, but I don’t want to bore you all with a million numbers. 😅

And I even got a free T-shirt today!! (see photo).

This is all to say that I am feeling incredibly lucky and blessed and so so thankful. I have also really loved seeing all the comments and messages I have received from friends and family and even people I barely know congratulating me and sending their prayers and well wishes.

Of course, I am still recovering from my surgery and it will take some time for me to be totally back in action, but I am just feeling so excited and hopeful and really really relieved.

Yay!!! 🌈💕😁

Ringing the bell as I left the hospital earlier today to celebrate a successful kidney transplant! Yay! 🔔 🌈💗
08/17/2024

Ringing the bell as I left the hospital earlier today to celebrate a successful kidney transplant! Yay!

🔔 🌈💗

08/15/2024

My kidney transplant was a sucess!! I’ve been really sleepy from the medication they’ve been giving me, but also happy to see my new kidney producing lots of urine and my blood tests improving each day. I’ve been in pain from the incision, but the pain is more than worth it. I’m so grateful for this gift and all of the people who have sent me well wishes and so kindly supported me!

Sending out love and gratitude 🙏🏻 💗

In Post Op, good spirits but in pain! Waiting to get transferred to a room.
08/14/2024

In Post Op, good spirits but in pain! Waiting to get transferred to a room.

08/14/2024

Surgery was successful!! And new kidney making urine already❤️❤️

Haley is officially in surgery! New kidney incoming, it arrived from NYC about 3:30pm
08/13/2024

Haley is officially in surgery! New kidney incoming, it arrived from NYC about 3:30pm

Hello everyone! I’m here to announce that had my last dialysis treatment this morning. Tomorrow at 3:00pm I will be gett...
08/12/2024

Hello everyone! I’m here to announce that had my last dialysis treatment this morning. Tomorrow at 3:00pm I will be getting surgery to receive a kidney transplant!

I started dialysis for the second time in my life in November of 2022, a few months after I started graduate school at Naropa University. Thank you to everyone who had supported me and help make this possible, and a special thanks to my new friend Joshua Major who donated his kidney on my behalf a couple of months ago so I could receive a kidney from an anonymous living donor in the National Kidney Registry.

I’m both excited and nervous for this new chapter of my life to begin. I find myself reluctant to celebrate just yet, it doesn’t quite feel real yet. I appreciate all the good vibes, prayers, and positive thoughts sent my way.

Thanks so much everyone. I will be sure to update social media after my surgery. 💖🌈

Hi, this is Haley. Some of you may have noticed there hasn't been a post here in a while, and that is because I have som...
05/23/2024

Hi, this is Haley. Some of you may have noticed there hasn't been a post here in a while, and that is because I have some good news. About a month ago, I received a call from my best friend Jenna Herreman who told me that her friend Josh wanted to talk to me. I was confused because I had never met Josh before. Jenna put Josh on the phone and he told me that he had decided he wanted to donate his kidney! Not only that, but he had also already completed ALL of the rigorous testing and had been officially approved.

Unfortunately, Josh is not the right blood type to be able to donate to me directly, but after seeing some of the posts my friends made here, he found out that he could donate through the National Kidney Registry, which facilitates donor exchanges for people who have eligible donors who are not a match for them.

Basically, Josh decided to donate a kidney to an unknown person in the registry so that I could receive a voucher for the registry. What this means is that Josh's donation will allow me to receive a kidney from another living donor who is part of the exchange program who is a match for me. I was told that they would start searching for a compatible donor for me starting the day that Josh donates. Well, that day is today, as this morning Josh donated his kidney to a stranger and is currently recovering well from a successful surgery!

I'm not sure how long it will take for them to find a compatible donor for me, it will probably take at least a six weeks, maybe longer, but it's looking like there's a high likelihood I will receive a kidney transplant sometime this Summer or Fall.

I am just blown away by the loving kindness and compassion I have been shown. By my friends Jenna Herreman, Sī Pugh, Aaron Grobler, Ani Hentkowski, Katianna Morawitz, Kristian Reynolds as well as my mom Lori Linzell Wilson who helped me have the courage to put myself out there, tell my story, and take on some of the work of doing so. Also, by my family, friends, professors, acquaintance, and strangers who have supported me and shown me love in a multitude of ways throughout this whole process.

Finally, of course to Josh who is donating his kidney with excitement, and who recognizes that we are all interconnected and that this doesn't just benefit me, but it also benefits him as well as all sentient beings.

Haley has been on dialysis for well over a year now. She has a tube continuously jutting out of her chest and spends 12 ...
04/07/2024

Haley has been on dialysis for well over a year now. She has a tube continuously jutting out of her chest and spends 12 hours/week hooked up to machines. She's developed infections. It's not fun, and it's not a permanent solution. The longer she's on dialysis, the more her health deteriorates and the greater the likelihood she'll suffer other health complications (such as heart disease) which could disqualify her from receiving a kidney. That would be a death sentence.

She needs a living kidney donor, and soon! Please help!



04/03/2024

Today is Donate Life Living Donor Day and we are celebrating living donors for saving and healing lives!

In 2023, 6,953 people made the decision to give one of their kidneys or a part of their liver to someone waiting for a second chance at life.

Others gave the healing gift of birth tissue—birth tissue includes tissues such as the placenta and amniotic membrane. Grafts derived from birth tissue help wounds heal.

Thank you to all living donors for your remarkable generosity! 💙💚

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