Mike Cavanaugh's Wife Laurie Needs Help Finding a Kidney Donor
Laurie Cavanaugh, the wife of Syracuse offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, needs help finding a kidney donor. Coach Cavanaugh took to Twitter tweeting out a link to her story and why there is such a need. The story was retweeted by the Syracuse coaching staff.
Below is more on Laurie's story from her donor app page. If you know of anyone who can help, please consider contacting the please consider contacting the Cavanaughs using the contact links on the donor app page.
"My name is Laurie Cavanaugh. I am a retired nurse. I was born with Polycystic Kidney Disease. I had a transplant in 2007 but it is starting to fail due to scarring. I have 2 siblings who have had transplants that are doing fine. I am passionate about my family. I am trying to avoid dialysis so I can live a normal life and avoid complications from dialysis. I have a lot of antibodies due to pregnancies, blood transfusions and the first kidney transplant. I had 17 people tested the first time I had a transplant before I found a donor. I have had 10 people tested so far but to no avail.
"I have to take a lot of medicine to keep my kidney functioning. Dialysis would limit my daily activities. I would have to be on hemodialysis 3 times a week for 4 hours a time or peritoneal dialysis which is done through the abdomen 4 times a day at home. They will keep you alive but they do not function as well as a kidney. There are a lot of complications with dialysis.
"I have been blessed with a loving family and friends. I have had a lot of people who have been tested and have encouraged me during this process. Due to the antibodies my search has been long and hard. I am hoping to be able to visit my son and daughter-in-law in Oregon and the rest of my family and friends around the USA. Did you know you can live a normal life with one kidney? I am kindly requesting if you would please consider being my living donor. There is also a National Kidney Exchange program if your kidney doesn't match my kidney. This meaning that I could match someone else's donor and my donor would match theirs hence there would be a kidney exchange. Thank you."
