A Dallas woman who was diagnosed with lupus is urgently in need of a kidney from a living donor.
Nono Osuji, an aspiring entertainer, was chasing her dreams when she first noticed a rash on her eyes. She chalked the rash up to an allergic reaction until she was finally diagnosed with lupus four months later.
Lupus, an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks tissues and organs, is often difficult to diagnose and can affect blood cells, the brain, heart, lungs, joints, and, in Osuji’s case, the kidneys. The most distinctive sign of the disease, which does not occur in every case, is a facial rash on both cheeks.
After 12 years of battling the illness, it has affected Osuji’s kidneys to the point that she urgently needs a transplant to save her life.
“I just feel like I want a chance to live and being chronically ill for 12 years hasn’t given me that opportunity,” Osuji told NBC 5 News in an interview. “Like every year it’s kind of declining.”
Osuji, whose life entails constant dialysis and low energy levels, said every plan she makes revolves around her illness.
“I need to be connected to doctors. I have a team of doctors I need to see them. I need to be within at least a few miles of a hospital. I need electricity,” she said.
Despite her life-threatening illness, Osuji has not given up hope of achieving her dreams.
“When you have something that you know you really want to do, it’s like ‘Ok, I’m still here for a reason,’” said Osuji, who is now on the transplant list at the Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute at Baylor Scott & White Health.
To donate a kidney for Osuji, visit the Baylor Dallas — Living Donor Program and type “Cynthia Osuji” as the “named recipient” when prompted in the health history questionnaire.
