Mallory Sims

When I was 17 years old, I was diagnosed with an incredibly rare kidney disease called C3 glomerulopathy (formerly known as MPGN Type II). Within weeks, my kidneys failed, and I suddenly found myself on dialysis.

Not long afterward, I received a kidney transplant that gave me nearly two wonderful years. When my disease returned and that transplant failed, I began hemodialysis.

That was 19 years ago.Today, at 40 years old, I’ve lived with this rare disease for 23 years, more than half my life.

When I was diagnosed, I never imagined I’d spend the next 23 years building a life around dialysis. Looking back now, I don’t just see treatments and hospital stays. I see friendships, faith, children I’ve had the privilege to love, and a life that has been far fuller than I ever imagined.

If there’s one thing I hope people take away from my story, it’s this: Dialysis gave me life.

For the past 19 years, dialysis has allowed me to celebrate birthdays, finish college, stay active, travel when I could, be active in church and community, spend years caring for children, become an aunt, and build lifelong friendships. It has also introduced me to some of the most incredible people I’ve ever known. My dialysis nurses, technicians, physicians, and fellow patients have celebrated life’s milestones with me, carried me through difficult days, and quite literally helped keep me alive. It’s a gratitude I could never fully express.

I’ve spent much of my adult life caring for children. I nannied for many years while I was in college and afterward, became a substitute teacher, and today one of my greatest joys is spending time with my young niece. Caring for children has always been part of who I am.

There have certainly been difficult seasons. But there has also been laughter, purpose, deep friendships, unwavering faith, and a life that I truly love.

For years, I honestly believed another transplant might never be possible. Because my disease is so rare, and the disease comes back, there simply weren’t good treatment options available when I lost my first kidney,that has finally changed.

Thanks to advances in medicine, there is now a treatment designed to dramatically reduce the risk of my disease returning after transplant. For the first time in nearly two decades, my doctors are talking about a transplant with a plan to help protect it.

That gives me hope not only for my own future, but for every child and family who may one day hear this diagnosis.

I’m raising funds because receiving a transplant is only part of the journey. My transplant team has asked me to relocate near the transplant center for 8 to 12 weeks after surgery so they can monitor me closely. Because my disease is so rare, I’ll also need monthly follow-up visits and specialized care beyond what many kidney transplant recipients require. During that time, I’ll continue paying my rent and living expenses back home while covering temporary housing, travel, transportation, caregiver expenses, and other transplant-related costs. Even with insurance, these expenses quickly become overwhelming.

A successful transplant would get me off of dialysis, but even more than that, it would allow me to use everything this journey has taught me to help others.

My dream isn’t simply to receive a kidney. I hope to work alongside hospitals and healthcare teams to support children and families who are beginning their own dialysis journeys. After living this life for 23 years, I understand the practical challenges, the fears, the questions, and the wins,  in a way only another patient can. I want families to know that a dialysis diagnosis doesn’t mean life is over. Life can still be full of purpose, joy, friendship, faith, and hope.

If you’re able, I would be deeply grateful for your support through Help Hope Live. Every donation, every fundraiser, every shared post, and every prayer brings me one step closer to transplant and to the future I’ve dreamed about for so many years.

For 23 years, this journey has shaped who I am. For 19 years, dialysis has given me a life I truly love, and I will always be grateful for the treatment and the people that brought me to this moment.

I’ve been blessed with a life that has been full of purpose because of dialysis. Now, for the first time in many years, I have the opportunity to dream about what comes next.

Imagine what I could do with a kidney.