Teen with Lupus to get kidney from father, but public support needed

Adaicia Semple is a 16-year-old from Tempie Village, West Coast Berbice.

She was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, Lupus, a year ago and is now battling kidney failure.
Lupus commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys.

Lupus attacks healthy tissues in the body and the signs and symptoms of it are not always present. Rather, there are episodes, called flares, when symptoms worsen.

Adaicia is in urgent need of a kidney transplant.

The teen’s father will be donating one of his kidneys, but the family needs financial assistance in offsetting costs for a cross-match test before the surgery can be done.

The surgery will be done at the Georgetown Public Hospital free of cost.

The family is also seeking finances to offset the cost of dialysis treatment until the surgery is performed.
A fundraiser, in the form of a bar-b-que, is also scheduled for Saturday, (November 27) at Tempie Village. The tickets cost G$1500.

Anyone willing to assist the family can contact them on +592-674-2453 or deposit directly to Republic Bank Account #SAV-975757542285.

LIFE-CHANGING

Before being diagnosed, the teen said she had no idea what Lupus was. For her, it has been a life-changing experience.

In the past year, she has been in and out of hospital, forcing her to stop doing the things she loves, such as dancing and running.

“It is a life-changing something…because most of the things that I love to do like dancing (and) running, when I was diagnosed with the Lupus, according to Dr Anderson, who is my current doctor, he said I could not do them like before,” Adaicia told the News Room during an interview this week.

She said prayers have gotten her through the past couple of months, coupled with the support of her mother and other family members.

“I wouldn’t say it is easy because it is not; the bad feelings and the pain is not nice.”

SYMPTOMS

Adaicia’s mother, Ulex Semple, explained that the young lady was an athlete.

A couple of years ago she suffered a knee injury during a race, and since then the mother said she has been complaining of pain in the knee.

And, despite numerous visits to several doctors, they were unsuccessful in determining the cause of the pain.

During July, 2020, Adaicia complained of feeling cold and burning in her eyes, followed by fever and headache.

She was also more tired than usual, a situation that led to her sleeping for long periods. At first, her mother thought the teen had contracted the COVID-19 virus.

After her symptoms worsened, young Adaicia was taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital where she was given saline and antibiotics and sent home; but the very next day her mother said she started to swell.

The mother explained that it took months after for the teen to be diagnosed with Lupus. A private doctor even misdiagnosed her with genital herpes.

“He said that she had herpes and I don’t know where she would get herpes from,” the mother said.

Since her diagnosis, the teen was tested regularly for kidney failure.

Four months ago doctors discovered both of her kidneys had failed and she was placed on dialysis.

Adaicia also now suffers from high blood pressure.