BOCA RATON, Fla. — A South Florida woman in desperate need of a kidney is asking for the public’s help.
Paula Segal said she is doing everything she can to find someone willing to donate.
Segal, 61, has spent her life traveling as an auditor. When she was 11 years old, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and spent most of her teen years in the hospital, where they would remove sections of her intestines.
“I was in and out of the hospital every five to eight weeks,” said Segal.
At the age of 36, Segal said she had her gall bladder removed and now the auto-immune disease has moved into her kidneys.
“I am now at 7 percent kidney function, which the doctors say is amazing; I am a walking miracle,” Segal said.
That 7 percent kidney function would usually require dialysis, but Segal said it’s not an option right now with past treatments.
“I don't know how much longer I have to wait unfortunately,” she said.
That is why Segal is making a plea for someone to donate a kidney to her. She said she is working with the Miami Transplant Institute.
“There is a few criteria, you need to be under the age of 60 to 65, have no cancer, no diabetes, no high blood pressure,” she said.
Segal said she is doing everything she can to find someone--from signs on her mailbox to signs on her bike, which she takes out daily for her 15-mile bike rides.
During her time traveling the world, she met hundreds of people, learning their culture or teaching them English. Segal said she has a few more counties on her bucket list and she hopes a donor is out there willing to help.
“It means my life, you would save my life,” pleaded Segal, “to receive this kidney would be saving my life.”
For more information on how to help click here or email RN24328@renewal.org