Manny – Kidney Recipient

Manny is full of energy right now at the age of four. But a few years ago, his life was much different. When he was two years old, this little guy still couldn’t walk. He had stopped growing and needed a kidney desperately. That’s when Cynthia came into the picture. “It was just hard because he had to be in bed at a certain time to get dialysis or not even in bed, in a crib and when you’re little you don’t want to be in a crib or bed you want to go play.”

Cynthia was in the process of adopting Manny when time began to run out. “So much stuff he went through… Probably just the times that we almost lost him. Two or three times he almost died.” That’s when Cynthia knew the power to heal him, was in her. And thanks to a judge who finalized Manny’s adoption just in time. Cynthia was officially his mother when the time came to change his life. “It just happened. He just needed it. My husband always jokes that I told him I was going to be the one to give him a kidney and actually I was the one so it just kind of worked out like that.”

Now, Manny has never been better. In fact, he taught his mom a lesson through all of this, that kids are a whole lot tougher than their parents. “They just really are, as adults we’re just so weak! You know we stub our toe and we cry! They go through constant pokes with the needles, constant pain. We do all kinds of things for them to survive until they get what they need and they still smile and they laugh and have fun.”