Helping Retha live a full life Campaign

Life can be challenging—beautiful and extraordinary, yet difficult. Now, add end-stage renal failure at the tender age of 11, and suddenly it becomes almost impossible.

That has been the life and reality of our extraordinary friend, Retha, since her initial diagnosis in 1994. With the first prognosis of life expectancy not extending beyond a decade, it is nothing short of a miracle to have her here today, being able to write this letter to you. Her options back then were simple: a kidney transplant or dialysis. Given that she was still so young and her body needed to grow, the decision was made that dialysis was the way forward until her kidneys failed completely. Her parents and sisters became dialysis specialists, nurses, caretakers, defenders, and cheerleaders. A new normal was established, and life carried on.

But the relentless demands of frequent dialysis, coupled with constant fatigue, took a toll on her health, making school and daily life seem like impossible tasks. At the end of 1995, she was placed on the transplant list, and the next year her kidneys failed entirely. Her mom did what every parent would want to do—she became her daughter's donor. However, the donated kidney quickly went into rejection, and the glimmer of hope that it brought was gone.

With time comes medical advances, and in 1998, an automated Peritoneal Dialysis machine became available—a technological lifeline! This made life much easier because it enabled her to do dialysis at night, freeing up the day to live.

In 1999, a miracle happened. Another donor kidney became available. The optimism was short-lived. Rejection almost immediately set in. Amid constant fatigue, a now 4-hourly dialysis schedule, extended hospitalizations, and the challenges of anti-rejection medication, she withdrew from school in grade 11. Unfortunately, this decision had an immense impact on her life—a life she was never supposed to have.

The subsequent years saw her back on Peritoneal Dialysis, lasting over a decade until an unbelievable breakthrough in 2011! After years of searching through studies and medical papers, they stumbled upon a new protocol for preparing and finding an organ donor. This protocol was used, and her aunt was able to donate her kidney to Retha. This truly was the miracle that everyone was hoping and praying for over the past 17 years.

A blissful 12 years followed—a life lived to the utmost! Retha got married, went on many adventures, and became a mom to a beautiful and energetic boy. But, life is challenging sometimes, and since January 20, 2024, she is back on dialysis; her miracle kidney is failing.

What will not fail her is us—the people who love her and stand by her. Those who want her to see more of this life that nobody even imagined she would have. We want her to be there for all the major and mundane moments of her son's life. She has been fighting all her life, and now we, again, will take the baton and become her nurses, caretakers, defenders, and cheerleaders.

Retha’s ability to work full-time hinges on access to Automated Peritoneal Dialysis. This will enable her to do Dialysis during the evening and not the every 4-hour schedule she is currently on. Yet, to sustain this, she requires constant clean water and uninterrupted electricity. As we all know, this is a significant challenge in South Africa.

The solution: A backup power (solar) system and a water filtration unit, estimated at R200,000 and R30,000, respectively. This will allow her to live the productive life she has created, to be a mom who can attend her son’s athletics, go to work, and above everything else, to continue to hope for another miracle.