⚠️ WARNING: GRAPHIC MEDICAL IMAGE AHEAD
Four years ago, I was lying on an operating table because of a kidney tumour. Today, I’m alive because I got help in time. Thabiso is still waiting for his chance.
The photograph I’m sharing is deeply personal. This is my kidney after it was removed because of a tumour.
I know what it feels like to be told that something is seriously wrong with your kidney. I know the fear, the uncertainty and the questions that suddenly fill your mind when your health and your life can no longer be taken for granted.
But there is an important difference between my story and Thabiso’s.
I was fortunate.
I live in a country where I had access to good medical care. I could afford private healthcare, and when my tumour was discovered, I was able to receive medical attention and undergo surgery quickly.
Thabiso does not have that privilege.
He is living with chronic kidney disease and desperately needs a kidney transplant in India. He does not have the financial resources to simply access the treatment he needs. His hope now rests partly on the generosity of ordinary people, people like you and me.
That is why I’m sharing a photograph that I would normally keep private.
I’m not sharing it for sympathy.
I’m sharing it because kidney disease became personal to me. Having walked my own kidney journey and been fortunate enough to receive the care I needed, I cannot comfortably look away while another person is fighting for the opportunity to receive theirs.
Thabiso needs our help.
If you can donate, please do. $5, $10, $20, whatever you can afford. No contribution is too small when many hands come together.
And if you genuinely cannot donate, please share this post and his GoFundMe. Someone on your timeline, or someone on theirs, may be in a position to help.
I received the medical care I needed when I needed it. Today, I’m asking you to help give Thabiso that same opportunity.
Four years ago, I was the one needing a miracle. Today, I’m asking you to become part of someone else’s. Even $5 can bring Thabiso one step closer to the transplant that could save his life.
Please donate. Please share. Please help us give Thabiso a fighting chance. 🙏🏾❤️
First Frame: My Kidney with a 3.8X4.7 tumor.
Second and third frame: Thabiso.
Link for donations below. This Gofundme is being managed by myself and Sazini Malaba. Feel free to ask any questions and we will try to clarify anything.
https://t.co/A5qxGuPZ1D
@_MakdShelby I would like to believe that fighting as siblings is a normal way of growing up and it creates family bonds. We fight because we are kids and not because we hate each other. It just hurts when one passes on before we grow up, to tell how we appreciate each other. Sorry man