{"id":87,"date":"2026-04-28T02:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T02:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/?p=87"},"modified":"2026-04-28T21:44:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:44:45","slug":"what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/","title":{"rendered":"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Waiting for a kidney transplant is a kind of waiting I never knew existed.
It\u2019s not just waiting for time to pass.
It\u2019s waiting for a phone call that could change everything.
It\u2019s waiting while trying to live a normal life that doesn\u2019t feel normal at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every day, there\u2019s this quiet weight in the background.
You wake up and check your phone.
You go to sleep wondering if tonight could be the night.
You keep your ringer on\u2014always,
Because that call\u2026 it means hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it also means that somewhere, another family is experiencing loss.
And that\u2019s something that never sits easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waiting feels like living in two worlds at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one world, Benjamin is just a 3-year-old little boy.
He laughs, plays, celebrates birthdays, and fills our days with so much love.
In the other world, he\u2019s a transplant patient,
a child on a list,
a number in a system that determines when his second chance will come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as his mom, I live in both of those worlds every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s fear.
Fear of his kidneys getting worse,
fear of the unknown,
fear of how long we will have to wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s hope.
Hope that the right donor will come at the right time,
hope that his body will stay strong until then,
hope for a future where this is just part of his story\u2014not all of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there\u2019s the waiting in between,
the appointments,
the lab work,
the updates that feel small but mean everything,
the constant balancing act between staying strong and feeling everything at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days, I\u2019m okay.
Other days, the weight of it all feels overwhelming.
But through it all, Benjamin reminds me what strength really looks like.
He doesn\u2019t carry the fear the way I do.
He just lives, fully, freely, joyfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And maybe that\u2019s what keeps me going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we wait.
We wait with hope.
We wait with faith.
We wait for the call that will change his life forever.
Until then, we hold him a little tighter and love him a little harder.
Because even in the waiting, he is our miracle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waiting for a kidney transplant is a kind of waiting I never knew existed.It\u2019s not just waiting for time to pass.It\u2019s waiting for a phone call that could change everything.It\u2019s waiting while trying to live a normal life that doesn\u2019t feel normal at all. Every day, there\u2019s this quiet weight in the background.You wake up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1995,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant - COTA for Ben's Fight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Waiting for a kidney transplant is a kind of waiting I never knew existed.It\u2019s not just waiting for time to pass.It\u2019s waiting for a phone call that could change everything.It\u2019s waiting while trying to live a normal life that doesn\u2019t feel normal at all. Every day, there\u2019s this quiet weight in the background.You wake up […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"COTA for Ben's Fight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61559370921004\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T02:14:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T21:44:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6331\/2026\/04\/IMG_3398.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1242\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2208\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"elizabethmcquaid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"elizabethmcquaid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"elizabethmcquaid\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/863798661da78c1d16b21e047785b951\"},\"headline\":\"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T02:14:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-28T21:44:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":381,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6331\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/IMG_3398-576x1024.jpeg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/\",\"name\":\"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant - COTA for Ben's Fight\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6331\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/IMG_3398-576x1024.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T02:14:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-28T21:44:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/863798661da78c1d16b21e047785b951\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6331\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/IMG_3398.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6331\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/IMG_3398.jpeg\",\"width\":1242,\"height\":2208,\"caption\":\"Cj0KMVNuYXBjaGF0LzEzLjgyLjEuMCAoaVBob25lMTcsMTsgaU9TIDI2LjMuMTsgZ3ppcCkSBpnQn8bgASAB\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/\",\"name\":\"COTA for Ben's Fight\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/863798661da78c1d16b21e047785b951\",\"name\":\"elizabethmcquaid\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b8847d044a010961da2be23e444cac1b8e369a6ff5576dc941254e4f4e5d1f3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b8847d044a010961da2be23e444cac1b8e369a6ff5576dc941254e4f4e5d1f3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b8847d044a010961da2be23e444cac1b8e369a6ff5576dc941254e4f4e5d1f3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"elizabethmcquaid\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/profile.php?id=61559370921004\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cota.org\\\/cotaforbensfight\\\/author\\\/elizabethmcquaid\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant - COTA for Ben's Fight","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant","og_description":"Waiting for a kidney transplant is a kind of waiting I never knew existed.It\u2019s not just waiting for time to pass.It\u2019s waiting for a phone call that could change everything.It\u2019s waiting while trying to live a normal life that doesn\u2019t feel normal at all. Every day, there\u2019s this quiet weight in the background.You wake up […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/","og_site_name":"COTA for Ben's Fight","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61559370921004","article_published_time":"2026-04-28T02:14:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-28T21:44:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1242,"height":2208,"url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6331\/2026\/04\/IMG_3398.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"elizabethmcquaid","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"elizabethmcquaid","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/"},"author":{"name":"elizabethmcquaid","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/#\/schema\/person\/863798661da78c1d16b21e047785b951"},"headline":"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant","datePublished":"2026-04-28T02:14:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-28T21:44:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/"},"wordCount":381,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6331\/2026\/04\/IMG_3398-576x1024.jpeg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/","name":"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant - COTA for Ben's Fight","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6331\/2026\/04\/IMG_3398-576x1024.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-04-28T02:14:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-28T21:44:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/#\/schema\/person\/863798661da78c1d16b21e047785b951"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6331\/2026\/04\/IMG_3398.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6331\/2026\/04\/IMG_3398.jpeg","width":1242,"height":2208,"caption":"Cj0KMVNuYXBjaGF0LzEzLjgyLjEuMCAoaVBob25lMTcsMTsgaU9TIDI2LjMuMTsgZ3ppcCkSBpnQn8bgASAB"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/2026\/04\/28\/what-it-feels-like-waiting-for-a-kidney-transplant\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What it Feels Like Waiting for a Kidney Transplant"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/","name":"COTA for Ben's Fight","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/#\/schema\/person\/863798661da78c1d16b21e047785b951","name":"elizabethmcquaid","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b8847d044a010961da2be23e444cac1b8e369a6ff5576dc941254e4f4e5d1f3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b8847d044a010961da2be23e444cac1b8e369a6ff5576dc941254e4f4e5d1f3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b8847d044a010961da2be23e444cac1b8e369a6ff5576dc941254e4f4e5d1f3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"elizabethmcquaid"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61559370921004"],"url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/author\/elizabethmcquaid\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1995"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforbensfight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}