Key West Lou / ANGELICA NEEDS A KIDNEY

Her name is Angelica Harris. Age 35. She needs a life saving donor kidney.

Angelica was born in the Philippines. Met a U.S. service man stationed there in 2012. They fell in love and in 2014 married.

Her husband eventually was stationed in Key West. They moved to Key West April 19, 2020.

She worked at a Key West resort a short time till the Pandemic hit. She was furloughed, then laid off.

Along the way she became a U.S. citizen and completed her Masters in Business Administration.

She and her husband continue to reside in Key West.

Angelica was having difficulty getting pregnant. She and her husband went to Miami to see a reproductive specialist. Lab work was done.

Her creatine level was 3.14. Normal range 0.50-1.10 mg/dl. She was retested. Her creatine levels remained high.

In April, Angelica was referred to a nephrologist. More tests done. The results scary. Her kidneys were only functioning at 16 percent. She was told she had less then 5 years before she would have to go on dialysis.

Angelica diagnosis stage 4 chronic kidney disease.

A preemptive kidney transplant was recommended.

Her stress level building during this time.

In July, Angelica completed her kidney pre-transplant evaluation.

In August, she was approved for a kidney transplant at Cleveland Clinic Florida. At that time she was listed on the United Network for Organ Sharing waiting list. Angelica was told at the time locating a kidney donor to meet her requirements could take up to 5 years.

The next month was September. Angelica was blessed. She had matched with a living donor in California. The donor went through all donation processes and interviews.

The donor was denied because of a urinary tract infection history.

Hope springs eternal. Angelica has faith. However, she is not waiting for another donor to pop up on the list. In addition to the posting, she is also out there seeking a donor on her own.

Social media the vehicle. Facebook and Instagram. Her Facebook site is Kidney for Angelica. Instagram (@kidneyforangelica).

The Key West Weekly on 10/22/20 wrote an article about Angelica and her search. I discovered it yesterday on a month old copy which I came upon by chance. I e-mailed Angelica and asked permission to write her story. She agreed. I will also be talking about her tonight on Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Angelica’s mission in seeking a donor kidney is threefold. She wants to live a long and healthy life, she wishes to avoid dialysis, and she wants to become a mother.

May God grant all of her three wishes.

I had to leave the house yesterday for more blood work.

Interestingly, the first doctor thought one of my kidneys had failed. He referred me to my second doctor, a nephrologist. Kidney good. The doctor discovered a parathyroid tumor instead.

Can’t win.

Now I am in the hands of a third doctor in Tampa. He has all the medical records We consult by phone and email. He recommends surgery. I am not in a hurry.

I had surgery by the same Tampa doctor 15 years ago. He removed 2 parathyroid tumors.

We have talked at length. I shared with him my coronavirus self quarantine. Today is my 294th day. My concern is I have basically remained confined to home other than medical visits.

I told the Tampa specialist if I went for surgery now, I would have an excellent chance of picking up the virus traveling to Tampa and teh time involved with the surgery, hotel, etc. He understood. Thought there would be no problem waiting till the spring or early summer.

Final decision not made yet.The blood work yesterday will aid in making the decision.

Since I was downtown for the blood work, I drove Duval again to see how many people, wearing masks, etc.

My previous trips down Duval in the past 2 months evidenced few people and bars and restaurants poorly attended.

It changed yesterday. Crowd 60-70 percent of what it normally would be. Masks are street mandated. I counted the number failing to wear masks. Twenty nine. Not bad considering the sidewalks were well occupied.

It was lunchtime. Fogarty’s and Caroline’s filled. People waiting. The bars appeared active. Even Sloppy Joe’s was open.

The crowd is because it is Thanksgiving week. There will be more as the week progresses.

I noted also the traffic on U.S. 1 coming into Key West was busy. Whereas the north lane sparse.

I am glad for the bars and restaurants that their business will be good this week. On the other hand, I am irritated all these people are coming to visit. They bring the coronavirus with them. Infect our people. Key West has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the Keys as well as the highest positivity rate.

I support a shutdown for a specified period throughout the whole country. We are never going to overcome the virus otherwise. The vaccine is still months off. Thousands will be infected. Many will die.

The city of Washington, D.C. has recommended no more than 10 persons in a house partying/sharing dinner for the holiday. Not sure if mandatory.

It was announced this morning Trump is planning several large parties at the White House over the Christmas season. The man does not understand! He brings large crowds in and a good number get sick. Some return home and get their neighbors sick.

Tuesday means my blog talk radio show tonight. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. A quick moving half hour where I rave and rant about this and that.

The show guaranteed to be interesting and exciting. Can’t miss. Not with all that is going on in the U.S.

Enjoy your day!

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