11/07/2025
Please read. This is a young girl who isworking with the same non-profit that I worked with. After reading this, please share and like/follow her page
I got a phone call today. The one I thought I had been waiting for. When “Cincinnati Children’s Hospital” shows up on the caller ID, you know to answer even if it turns out to be a reminder or a survey. But today it wasn’t automated. Today it was Windsor’s living donor coordinator. And since this isn’t a specific person who usually calls me to chat, my body broke out in goosebumps, I got a lump in my throat, and, to be honest, I felt queasy. “This is it!” I thought. “We have Windsor’s match!”
For two glorious seconds, hope and anxiety coursed through my body. Then I registered what she was saying. “Just checking in… How’s the search going? We have no one left for Windsor currently… all her potential donors have been evaluated and denied…” My heart hit the floor while I tried to maintain a composed voice.
Afterward, I sobbed.
Then, I do what I do. I started planning. Nothing is more comforting to me than a To Do List. A ranking of actionable steps and ideas. I might struggle with executive dysfunction, but boy have I learned to compensate with a flow chart.
But in the midst of furiously brain dumping into my Notes app and starting a new Keep checklist. I paused. I began to reach out to a few of the people I rely on most day to day. Just to tell them. Just to let my devastation hit the air. Just to not feel so alone and hopeless… interesting for me, an introvert, who feels most comfortable alone. In reaching out to just those few, I felt a bit lighter. Not hopeful. Not optimistic. Not yet.
I’ve had my two “heroes” for this whole long year who have helped me through this… I often think, I have these two ladies to be my heroes so I can be Windsor’s hero. They’ve written letters, shared posts, handed out stickers and magnets, and generally harassed the world on her behalf this year. They’ve been my strength and my light.
Now though… now I need more help. Many of you know that in my day-to-day life, I’m a helper. I don’t ask for help, I give help. I don’t mind sharing my struggles from time to time, especially for Windsor’s sake. But I’m not vulnerable, really. I don’t share. I listen.
But friends, if ever there was a time to be vulnerable and to ask for help, it’s now. Because I’m scared. And my optimism on my own is running out. It’s been one full year of this search and I know that realistically Windsor’s most likely donors have applied and been rejected. This means our search now is probably for a stranger. An altruistic donor who will give my child a kidney, not for love of her, but for love of humanity.
I need your help, all of you. Two heroes is no longer enough. I need a team of superheroes. Will you share Windsor’s light with the world? Invite your friends to this page.
If you’ve ever considered living kidney donation, now is the time. Visit www.WindsorMayo.com to learn more.
Help us keep the light shining until Windsor’s match is found. 🕯️
