Hi, my name is Alyssa Rose Meadows. I am a 14-year-old little girl that was diagnosed with a kidney disease called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) at the age of 5. Since then, I have tried different medicines and different treatments, and nothing has helped. We have been to a few different doctors and they all seem to have the same opinion on this. I was on medicine from the age 5 up until this year and after turning 13 things just started to get worse with my kidneys. So, on March 18 my doctor called and wanted me to come in for a hospital stay to try and bring off some fluids and get my levels straightened out. Well while we were there things just didn’t seem to be getting any better and the doctor talked with us about Peritoneal Dialysis and what we were going to have to do from that point forward. So, we were transported to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where we were welcomed and learned more about what we were headed for next. We had to stay on IV medicine there for a while longer until we were able to have a Peritoneal Dialysis catheter surgery done on the 28th of March. After the surgery we had to stay for 2 more weeks before I could start the Dialysis. So, after starting the Dialysis and training was done there for a week or so, we were released to come home and start our at-home dialysis treatment. So from here I will at some point have to have a transplant to resolve the problems I am having with my kidney. So as I wait for this to happen my family and I are at home leaving our best life as we can and enjoying this wonderful time we have together.

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.