Family reaches out on Mother's Day for help finding mom new kidney
(WJBK) - Diagnosed with stage five renal failure in 2009, the past seven years have been a struggle for Laurie Wilke.
"Being in and out of the hospital spending so much time at dialysis -- I feel like I can't do everything I should be able to do at my age," she said.
Wilke has had 20 surgeries, 30 hospitalizations and undergoes dialysis three times a week for four hours at a time. Her three children hate to see her suffer.
"There have been important times in our life where she's just so exhausted - it's hard to see her that way," said her daughter, Michelle McCart.
Another daughter, Ashley Wilson, said her mother's been on the donor list for about two years.
"Unfortunately we haven't had a match and we're just trying to reach out today -- especially on Mother's Day -- for her to try to find a match for a kidney," she said.
So the kids and grandkids got up early on Sunday, took a picture, and started posting it everywhere, hoping their effort to find a living donor for their mother would go viral. She needs a donor with blood type A or O to get a second chance for this grandmother of six.
"I could go back to work," she said. "I could spend more time doing things with my kids and my grandkids like I'd like to instead of being tired all the time. It would really give me my life back."
Her kids and grandkids are trying to give this mom the ultimate Mother's Day present.
"I just really hope we can get a match for my mom -- get her a new kidney so she can stay with us forever," said her son Josh Buchholz.
Her granddaughter, Jada Joseph, said her grandma is her "favorite person in the world."
"I think my kids are amazing," Wilke said. "This has already been a great Mother's Day."
Click here to visit Wilke's Facebook page. Click here to register for organ donation and transplantation. You can also call Josie, Wilke's transplant care coordinator, at (313) 916-3823.
The Kidney Walk at the Detroit Zoo is this Sunday, May 15. You can get more information here.