A Mission Hills family only has one Christmas wish, and it’s an important one – it’s to find a kidney donor for Nadia Menjivar. It was just one year ago that the young woman was first diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.
Now, it’s a race against time. Nadia’s condition has quickly advanced, and she needs a kidney donor. She is in stage 5 kidney disease.
“This means that her kidneys are not working,” Nadia’s mother, Gisela Menjivar shared. “Both of her kidneys are only slightly working – at 9 percent. If she doesn’t receive a kidney, her life is in danger.” When she was born, she had complications with her heart, but she still was able to function as a normal child. Her diagnosis last year was unexpected.
She has kept positive despite her diagnosis. “I want to be healthy and be with my family,” she said.
It goes without saying that her life has not been easy, and it has been a very stressful road.
Nadia is either at Kaiser or UCLA 2-3 times a week as they try to balance her blood and get her healthy enough to prepare for a possible transplant. COVID-19 has made treatment more difficult over the last year with restrictions that only allow a patient alone is to enter the hospital.
“I want to be able to do the things I did before I got sick,” she said. She wants to realize her dream of becoming an actress and working in the film industry.
Her friends and family members are desperately trying to get the word out to find a kidney donor for her. They are encouraging people to go to www.uclakidneydonor.org to learn more about how they can help and possibly be tested to see if they are a match. The kidney that Nadia needs must come from a type O positive blood donor, between the ages of 25 to 55 years old.
“Nadia and we are hoping for a Christmas miracle,” said family friend Kay Deitch. “She went to school with my granddaughters at San Jose Elementary in Mission Hills and later at the North Valley Military Institute in Granada Hills. They have grown up together,” Deitch shared. “She is very young and still has a lot of living to do, she doesn’t want anything for Christmas, she just wants to be well.”
For more information on how you can be tested to be a donor or help the Menjivar family call: (818) 261-4807.